PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team (13-5, 8-1 PAC) secured a critical regular season series sweep of the Chatham Cougars (12-5, 5-4 PAC) with a 64-52 road victory in Presidents' Athletic Conference play Wednesday evening in Pittsburgh.
The victory helped W&J hand Chatham its first home loss of the season. The Cougars entered Wednesday's game with a perfect 8-0 at home.
Riley DeRubbo (Washington, Pa./Trinity) led all players with a game-high 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists.
Katie Kovalchick (Shelocta, Pa./Indiana Area) registered 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) added 12 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Jaden Wan (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock) finished with nine points off the bench.
Marina Grado (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) dished out a career-high eight assists in the victory.
Both teams came out hitting shots early in the game. The Cougars connected on their first two shot attempts to open up an early 5-0 lead. W&J was quick to respond, as the Red and Black scored on three-straight possessions. The Presidents ripped off 11-straight points, which included an offensive rebound and jumper by
Jacey Mullen (New Springfield, Ohio/Springfield Local) that gave the Presidents a 6-5 advantage. A three by DeRubbo coupled with a layup by Mullen concluded the run that made it 11-5 W&J. A little later in the quarter, DeRubbo and Loutsion, both nailed three-point field goals as W&J led by a 19-15 margin after the first quarter.
The Presidents extended their lead further with a strong all-around second quarter effort. Wan contributed seven points during the frame. Her pull up jumper extended the W&J lead to 32-20 with 2:39 to play until halftime. Despite Chatham scoring on its final three possessions of the half, W&J led by a 37-26 score at the break.
W&J shot 46.4 percent from the field in the first half. Chatham converted at a 37 percent clip over the first 20 minutes of play.
The Red and Black further extended their lead with an 8-0 run to start the third. Consecutive three-point plays by Kovalchick and Loutsion stretched the advantage to 45-26 at the 7:41 mark. Nearly four minutes later, Wan knocked down a jumper to make it 49-30 with 3:53 to play in the quarter. Following six-straight points by the Cougars, a pair of free throws by Kovalchick and a three-point field goal by DeRubbo made it 54-36 heading to the fourth.
Chatham put together a 10-0 run to start fourth, which trimmed the W&J lead back into single digits at 54-46. However, the Presidents were able to hold off the Cougars. A steal and fastbreak layup by
Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) midway through the quarter kept the W&J lead in double digits. The Presidents also made four free throws in the final minute to secure the win.
W&J, who ranks near the top of Division III in free throw shooting, converted 84.2 percent (16-of-19) in the victory. W&J out-rebounded Chatham by a 45-36 margin.
The Presidents travel north to Grove City for a league contest on Saturday (Jan. 31). Tip off in Mercer County is scheduled for 1 p.m.
