Dec 19, 2014 2 min read

Taylor Cortazzo’s fourth three-point field goal of the game, with 41 seconds remaining, gave Washington & Jefferson the lead and the Presidents went on to an 81-80 non-conference victory over Ohio Wesleyan in a women’s basketball game Friday afternoon at Henry Memorial Center.

Cortazzo stole the basketball from an Ohio Wesleyan player with 46 seconds left and made a wide-open three from the wing after taking a pass from Amirah Moore to give W&J just its second lead of the second half, 79-78.

Following a missed three-pointer by Ohio Wesleyan, W&J guard Danni Medovich made two free throws with 16.7 points remaining to give the Presidents an 81-78 lead. W&J’s defense did not allow a game-tying three-point basket by the Battling Bishops, instead yielding only a layup just before time expired.

The win was the fifth in a row by W&J (7-1).

Beka Bellhy led the Presidents with a game-high 26 points. Bellhy made 11 of 15 shots. She sparked W&J’s comeback from a 38-32 halftime deficit by scoring 22 of her points in the second half after playing only four minutes in the first half.

Cortazzo, who was 4-for-8 from three-point range, finished with a career-high 21 points.

Kristin Herring led five Ohio Wesleyan players in double figures with 17 points and also had 10 assists. LaNiece McRae had 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Battling Bishops, who fell to 4-5.

W&J is idle until Dec. 27 when it plays Lourdes (Ohio) in the Smokey Ballanger Classic in Westerville, Ohio. The next day, W&J will play Hiram, which is coached by former Presidents player Emily Hays.