WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team (18-6, 13-2) fought off a second half rally to secure an 83-74 win over visiting Bethany College (15-9, 10-5) in Presidents' Athletic Conference action Wednesday inside Salvitti Family Gymnasium.
The victory helped W&J secure a home game in next week's PAC Tournament quarterfinals. The Presidents remain tied in the PAC South standings with one game to play in the regular season. W&J will need a win over Waynesburg and a Chatham victory over Saint Vincent during Saturday's action to claim the top spot in the PAC South division.
Riley DeRubbo (Washington, Pa./Trinity) filled the stat sheet with a game-high 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Katie Kovalchick (Shelocta, Pa./Indiana Area) registered a strong showing with 20 points and nine rebounds.
Marina Grado (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) continued to be a steady presence at point guard, finishing with a career-high 15 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) made it four Presidents in double figures scoring, finishing with 10 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.
W&J was awarded for its early defensive work, which helped the hosts rip off the first 10 points of the game. Loutsion helped the Presidents capitalize on a pair of those steals. Her layup at the 8:13 mark made it 8-0 and forced a Bethany timeout. A few minutes later, Kovalchick knocked down a three to start an 11-0 spurt for the Presidents. Kovalchick accounted for nine of the 11 points during the run. Her layup at the 3:39 mark made it 21-3 Presidents. After a cold spurt, W&J took a 26-9 lead into the second quarter after a three-point field goal by DeRubbo ended the first quarter scoring.
Bethany opened the second quarter with seven-straight points to cut the W&J lead to 28-16. W&J answered quickly as DeRubbo knocked down a step back three-pointer and Loutsion converted a pair of free throws to bolster the lead to 33-16 at the seven-minute mark.
Following six-straight points by the Bison,
Michelle Jellison (Monongahela, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) provided an impact for the Presidents off the bench. Jellison scored seven consecutive points to extend the W&J lead to 40-22 with 2:26 left in the half. The Bison closed the half with a 9-3 run to cut the Presidents' advantage to 43-31 at the break.
Bethany continued to push throughout the second half. An extended run brought the Bison to within four points when a layup at the 4:01 mark cut the deficit to 51-47. The Presidents eventually countered with a run of their own, which was a 10-2 spurt close to the quarter. W&J scored the final six points of the third quarter. A pair of free throws by DeRubbo followed by consecutive field goals by Kovalchick made it a 61-49 advantage for the Presidents entering the fourth.
The Bison opened the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run. Consecutive three pointers by Bethany trimmed the W&J lead to 63-61 with 6:31 to play. Following a timeout, the Presidents responded with 12-straight points, the last five of which came from Grado. Her three pointer with 3:27 to play pushed the lead back into double digits at 73-61. That was more than enough for W&J to secure the win.
W&J shot 41.4 percent from the field. Bethany shook off its rough first quarter to convert at a 39.2 percent clip. The Presidents edged the Bison by a slim 44-43 margin in rebounding. W&J, the top free throw shooting by percentage in Division III, made 20-of-22 attempts at the line in Wednesday's win.
The Presidents conclude the regular season with Senior Day versus Waynesburg on Saturday (Feb. 21). Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.
