WASHINGTON, Pa. – Senior guard
Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) poured in a game-high 19 points to power the top-seeded Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team to a 59-50 victory over third-seeded Chatham University Saturday evening in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship game at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.
The victory gives W&J the PAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championships. The entire bracket will be announced on the NCAA's selection show on its website Monday at 2:30 p.m.
The Presidents improve to 23-4 overall. Chatham, who entered the tournament as the defending PAC champions, concluded the season at 21-6.
The PAC title is the seventh overall for the Presidents. The current senior group, the winningest class in W&J women's basketball history, will see their careers continue after earning their second PAC title. The group bookended their careers with PAC titles, after helping W&J to the conference crown as freshmen back in 2021-22. The conference title is the eighth overall and third at W&J for head coach
Jina DeRubbo.
The Presidents jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead behind a frantic layup off the opening tip by
Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan). After a defensive stop, Cherry drained a triple from distance to give W&J the early two possession lead. Chatham responded back with six-straight points to take its first lead on a layup at the 7:13 mark. Loutsion countered with a made triple to help W&J regain the lead at 8-6 on its ensuing possession.
A few minutes later,
Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) buried a triple of her own to give W&J an 11-8 advantage. A jumper by
Katie Kovalchick (Shelocta, Pa./Indiana Area) extended the W&J advantage to 13-8.
Riley DeRubbo (Washington, Pa./Trinity) got into the act from distance, knocking down a triple to swell the lead to 16-9 with three minutes to play in the first. Cherry and Bezjak tacked on additional three-point field goals in the final minute of the frame. Bezjak's beat the first quarter buzzer with a corner three to make the lead 24-11 after 10 minutes of play.
W&J opened the second quarter on a 7-2 run over a three-plus minute span. The spurt included a pair of knock down jumpers by Cherry to make it 31-13 at the 7:13 mark. The 18-point lead marked the largest of the opening half for W&J. The Presidents offense went cold over the next five-plus minutes, allowing the Cougars to put together a 10-2 run to pull within 33-23 at the break.
Chatham's run spilled over into the second half. The Presidents offense remained stagnant. That allowed the Cougars to rip off another extended run. A three-point play by Charjae Brock tied the game at 35 all with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter. Chatham took its first lead of the game with a layup at the 2:29 mark. W&J was quick to answer as Kovalchick knocked in a layup on the ensuing possession. After an exchange of field goals, Cherry helped W&J regain the lead at the end of the quarter with a jumper just before the buzzer.
Field goals by
Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) and Cherry stretched the W&J advantage back to six (45-39) with 8:20 to play. Chatham cut the W&J lead back to two on multiple occasions. The Cougars could never get over the hump though as the Presidents' seniors provided several answers down the stretch.
Bezjak and Cherry provided a pair of dagger threes in the final few minutes. Bezjak's triple came with 1:39 to stretch the lead to 52-47. After a Chatham field goal, Cherry buried another clutch shot from downtown, allowing W&J to increase its lead to 55-49 with 1:03 remaining.
As it often does, the W&J defense delivered down the stretch, denying Chatham on four three-point attempts in the final minute. The Presidents finished off the nine-point victory with enough makes at the line down the stretch.
W&J's defense shined in the victory. The Presidents limited the Cougars to a season-low 50 points. Chatham entered the game as the PAC's top offensive unit, averaging 76+ points per game. W&J held Chatham to a 14.3 percent clip from three-point range. The Cougars made just three-of-21 three-point attempts.
The Presidents also controlled the glass, outworking the Cougars to the tune of a 46-27 advantage. W&J grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. Leading those efforts were led by Dryburgh, who pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
Cherry earned the nod as the PAC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The point guard has served as the catalyst for the program as a three-year captain and stepped up in the biggest moments Saturday. Cherry added seven rebounds to go along with her 19 points. DeRubbo joined Cherry in double figures with 10 points. Kovalchick and Dryburgh joined Cherry on the All-Tournament Team.
W&J will return to action on Friday (March 7) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at a time and location to be determined.
