DELAWARE, Ohio –
Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) scored a team-high 18 points including the game-tying basket at the regulation buzzer to power the Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team to a 76-72 overtime victory over Messiah University in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.
The all-time winningest class in program history made more history with Friday's win. The victory is the first NCAA Tournament for the W&J women's basketball program, who is making its ninth tournament appearance. The 2025 senior class has now compiled 94 wins over the past four seasons but none were bigger than Friday's overtime victory.
The victory moves W&J to 24-4 overall. The 24 wins matches the most in a single season in program history for the Presidents. Messiah saw its 18-game winning streak snapped as its season concludes at 25-3.
"I am so happy to finally win an NCAA game with this senior class," said veteran W&J head coach
Jina DeRubbo. "The seniors stepped up and refused to lose when their backs were against the wall. I could not be prouder of the fight in our team tonight."
Five Presidents scored in double figures. Along with Bezjak's game-saving efforts,
Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) filled the stat sheet with 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists in just 24 minutes.
Riley DeRubbo (Washington, Pa./Trinity) tacked on 13 points and a game-high five steals.
Katie Kovalchick (Shelocta, Pa./Indiana Area) and
Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) recorded 11 points and 10 points, respectively.
Trailing by four points with nine seconds to play, Bezjak drained a three-point field goal to bring the Presidents within a single point. After a free throw split by the Falcons, Bezjak converted a driving layup just ahead of the buzzer, which allowed the Presidents to force overtime.
The Presidents secured the win in the overtime by converting seven-of-nine free throw attempts. Bezjak accounted for four free throws in the extra session. Her free throws at the 2:15 mark gave the Presidents the lead for good. DeRubbo tacked on a pair of layups down the stretch as the Presidents outlasted the Falcons to move on in the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
In a game that featured nine ties and 10 lead changes, it was Messiah who used a 20-8 advantage in the second quarter to take a healthy 34-24 lead into the halftime break. Facing one of the top defensive units in Division III women's basketball, the Presidents responded by shooting 57.1 percent in the second half. The Presidents converted 16-of-28 attempts from the field over the final 20 minutes, which helped them erase the double-digit halftime deficit.
Dryburgh, who played just five minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, led the comeback efforts. Dryburgh scored 14 points in the second half. Her layup at the 3:50 mark of the third quarter gave W&J a 41-40 advantage. The two teams grinded through a back-and-forth battle for the remainder of the game. Dryburgh canned a three-point field goal to even the score at 53 all with 5:54 left in the fourth quarter.
W&J faced tough odds down the stretch, as Dryburgh committed her fifth foul with 1:03 remaining in the fourth. Messiah extended its lead to four in the final seconds before Bezjak's late heroics forced overtime.
The Presidents put together a strong advantage in the paint. W&J outscored Messiah by a 46-30 margin in the paint. The Presidents out-rebounded the Falcons by a 35-29 margin.
After making history with its first NCAA win Friday, the Presidents will take aim at more history Saturday as they aim for win No. 25 in the NCAA Second Round. The Presidents will face 18th ranked Ohio Wesleyan with a tip off at 6:30 p.m. in Delaware, Ohio. The two teams faced off during the 2023-24 season, a 58-57 W&J win in the championship game of the W&J Tip-Off Tournament.
