LATROBE, Pa. – Despite a career-high 30-point performance by junior center Katie Kovalchick (Shelocta, Pa./Indiana Area), the Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team (16-6, 11-2) was downed by a 77-74 score by Saint Vincent College (16-6, 11-2) in overtime in a battle for first place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference South Division Wednesday evening in Westmoreland County.

Kovalchick led all players with 30 points while adding seven rebounds. She converted 12-of-23 field goal attempts and made six-of-seven free throw attempts in the loss. The 30 points in the most in a game by a President since Alie Seto dropped 32 in a win at Saint Vincent in 2020. Graduate student guard Riley DeRubbo (Washington, Pa./Trinity), who fouled out late in regulation, posted a double-double effort with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Junior point guard Marina Grado (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) added nine points and matched the game high with five assists.

The opening quarter saw both teams shoot better than 50 percent from the field. Saint Vincent built a 9-7 advantage before an 11-0 run by the Presidents helped W&J build a 18-9 lead at the 3:47 mark. Three-point field goals by DeRubbo and Raegan Kadlecik (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour) fueled the Presidents' run. Following a second foul call sent Grado to the bench, Saint Vincent countered with 10 of the next 12 points to close the quarter. The Bearcats drained a triple following a pair of offensive rebounds, which allowed them to cut the W&J advantage to 20-19 by the end of the opening quarter.  

That momentum spilled over into the second quarter. The Bearcats opened the second quarter scoring with a layup to regain the lead at 21-20. Following a pair of free throws by Kadlecik, Saint Vincent tallied six-straight points to lead 27-22 at the 6:18 mark. The Presidents responded with a run of their own, regaining a 31-29 advantage with a 9-2 run over the next three-plus minutes, which included five-straight points by Kovalchick. The Presidents took a 37-35 lead into halftime following late layups by DeRubbo and Kovalchick.

Kovalchick produced an efficient first half of work, scoring 16 points on a 7-of-11 shooting effort from the field. Both teams posted an identical 44.8 shooting percentage (13-of-29) in the opening half of play.

Things slowed down for both teams offensively in the third quarter. The Bearcats eventually pushed back, 40-39, in front with a three-point field goal at the 8:30 mark. The Presidents responded with an 8-1 run which was highlighted by a triple by DeRubbo, which gave W&J a 48-41 lead with 4:07 to play in the frame. Junior forward Jaden Wan (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock) converted a layup in the closing of the seconds to allow the Presidents to lead 53-49 after three quarters.
 
The Presidents led for nearly the entirety of the fourth quarter. W&J held a 61-57 advantage following a Kovalchick layup with 3:06 to play. However, a pair of consecutive foul calls fouled out DeRubbo with 2:39 remaining. Leading by one with 22 seconds to play, junior forward Jacey Mullen (New Springfield, Ohio/Springfield Local) grabbed an important offensive rebound, which forced Saint Vincent to foul. W&J made three-of-four free throws down the stretch. The Bearcats evened the score with a pair of field goals in the final 10 seconds. W&J had a drive to the basket in the final seconds of regulation that missed the mark and the game went to overtime tied at 66.

The teams traded points and the score was tied four additional times in overtime. Grado and Kovalchick accounted for all eight points in overtime. Saint Vincent took the lead for good on a field goal with 25 seconds to play. The Bearcats got two stops from that point to secure the victory.

The back-and-forth battle was evident on the final stat sheet. Saint Vincent held slight advantages in field goals (26-25) and made three-pointers (6-4). W&J led in free throw makes (18-17) and turnover margin (12-10). The game featured 16 lead changes and 11 ties.

W&J heads to Greenville, Pa. to face PAC North Division foe Thiel College on Saturday (Feb. 14). Tip off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Mercer County.