O’Keefe’s career game sends Waynesburg past W&J
Waynesburg’s Addy Knetzer throws a pass to teammate Monica Starre between W&J’s Danielle Parker and Rachel Bellhy during the second half of Wednesday’s PAC game.
Waynesburg’s Monica Starre get sets to shoot while the W&J’S Taley Dunaway tries for a block during Wednesday’s game.
Waynesburg’s Kendall Paige goes in for a layout during a PAC game against Washington & Jefferson College Wednesday night in Waynesburg.
W&J’s Brian Lindquist tries to keep the ball from Yellow Jackets defenders during Wednesday night’s game.
WAYNESBURG – Senior guard Kassidy O’Keefe scored a career-high 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting Wednesday night to lead the Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets to a 71-66 Presidents’ Athletic Conference win over the visiting Washington & Jefferson Presidents.
The win gives Waynesburg (14-10, 10-7) the season sweep over W&J (16-8, 13-4), despite the Presidents sitting ahead of the Jackets in the standings and nearly every measurable team statistic.
“Kass was doing all the little extra stuff tonight,” Waynesburg head coach Sam Jones said. “Making the eight shots and scoring 20 points is obviously huge and a big reason why we won tonight,” Jones said. “She was laser focused playing tonight, and we needed it.”
Despite the loss, the Presidents clinched the No. 2 seed in the PAC playoffs, as No. 3-seeded St. Vincent lost to Thomas More Wednesday, and will receive a double bye in the playoffs.
“They work harder than we do,” W&J head coach Jina DeRubbo said. “It’s a rivalry and they showed up and played hard. We did not rebound the ball. You can’t give up 18 offensive rebounds and expect to win.”
Midway through the first quarter, W&J senior guard Taylor Cortazzo scored the 1,000th point of her career.
“I didn’t even score 1,000 in high school,” Cortazzo said. “I played a little bit as a freshman, but I always felt like Coach (DeRubbo) had trust in me. … I just kept progressing and working hard and shooting the ball just helped me get (to 1,000 points).”
DeRubbo said Cortazzo’s versatility and work ethic are the best parts of her game and the main reasons she is a 1,000-point scorer.
“Taylor’s had a great career,” DeRubbo said. “She’s really just a hard-nosed kid. She works hard, and she’s gritty. She’s small, but she’s still managed to score 1,000 points. She’s a well-rounded player, who can shoot the three and get to the rim.”
Jones has coached against Cortazzo for four years now, and he has “always admired her work ethic and her feistiness” as a player.
The Jackets led 17-16 after the first quarter, as junior forward Addy Knetzer scored eight first-quarter points. Knetzer would end the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds to net her 15th double-double of the season
W&J then took the lead in the second quarter, entering halftime with a 30-27 lead. The Presidents shot 46 percent from the field in the half compared to Waynesburg’s 27 percent, but the Jackets grabbed 10 more offensive rebounds and made three fewer turnovers that led to 13 more shots.
To start the third quarter, O’Keefe, who scored only two points on 1 of 2 shooting in the first half, scored eight straight points for Waynesburg to give the Jackets a 37-36 lead. O’Keefe would go on to score 10 points in the quarter, but W&J’s junior forward Rachel Bellhy scored eight points in the quarter to give the Presidents a 50-45 lead. Bellhy finished the game with 19 points on 9 of 18 shooting, had 14 rebounds and handed out four assists.
Senior guard Katie Gehlmann made her third three-point field goal of the game to start the fourth quarter for the Jackets. Two possessions later, O’Keefe would hit a three, and that was followed by another Gehlmann three to give the Jackets a one-point lead, which they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Gehlmann finished the game with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The Presidents trailed by six points with three minutes left to play, but a 3-pointer from senior guard Danni Medovich and a layup from sophomore forward Danielle Parker cut the deficit to one point with a minute and a half to play.
After an O’Keefe jumper and a scoreless possession from W&J, Gehlmann, who ranks sixth in the nation in free throw percentage, made six straight free throws at the end of the game to seal it from the Jackets.
Parker finished the game with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Cortazzo, who played all 40 minutes, finished with 14 points.
The Presidents were again without their second-leading scorer, junior guard Amirah Moore, who DeRubbo said is dealing with an injury and her status moving forward is still undetermined.
Waynesburg travels to Geneva Saturday, Feb. 18, for its regular-season finale at 5:30 p.m., and the Yellow Jackets control their own fate to get the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the PAC playoffs.
W&J hosts nationally ranked Thomas More Saturday, Feb. 18, at 1 p.m. for the Presidents’ Senior Day before receiving a double bye in the PAC playoffs next week.
Men’s results
Wash & Jeff 57, Waynesburg 56
The W&J men’s basketball team beat Waynesburg 57-56 on a last-second layup from Brian Lindquist, eliminating the Yellow Jackets from playoff contention. Lindquist scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds. “He’s a junior that has wanted this moment for a long time,” W&J head coach Ethan Stewart-Smith said. “He’s been improving as long as we’ve been here. He’s one of our best players and a leader as a junior. I definitely thought he was going to produce as soon as he got the touch.”
Waynesburg junior wing Jon Knab led all scorers with 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting. Junior forward Marcus Wallace scored 10 points for the Jackets (6-17, 4-12), while freshman guard Sean Stinelli led the Presidents with 14 points.
W&J (3-20, 3-13) started the season 0-16, but the Presidents have gone 4-4 in their second time through the PAC.
“It’s just growth. That’s all we’re trying to do is just improve,” Stewart-Smith said. “The second half of the year we haven’t made a lot of the same mistakes that we made in the first half.”
Waynesburg ends its season at Geneva Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and W&J hosts Thomas More at 1 p.m.