PAC basketball tournaments
Waynesburg fought off a late comeback by Thiel and defeated the visiting Tomcats 72-67 in overtime in the opening round of the Preisdents’ Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament Saturday.
Waynesburg (3-7), which has won three in a row, will play at top-seeded Saint Vincent (7-0) tonight.
Things started well for the Jackets, who held a 16-12 lead after the first quarter. The Tomcats (1-8) closed an already narrow gap by outscoring the host team 16-15 in quarter number two. Waynesburg held a slim 31-28 advantage at halftime.
Waynesburg regained control of the contest by besting Thiel 16-9 in period number three and by the time the fourth quarter got underway, the Orange and Black was ahead 47-37. However, the Tomcats refused to go away and found their offensive stride in the fourth.
Thiel scored 26 points in the fourth quarter but still trailed by three in the final few seconds of regulation. A desperation three-pointer attempt by the Cats missed the mark, but a foul was called. Thiel’s Rachel Breckenridge connected on all three ensuing free throws and the game was sent into overtime.
Waynebsurg freshman guard Marley Wolf scored the first five points of overtime, puttign the Yellow Jackets up 68-63 and Thiel never threatened again.
Andrea Orlosky led Waynebsurg with 18 points. Brooke Fuller had a team-best 10 rebounds and scored 11 points for a double-double. Wolf contributed 16 points.
Saint Vincent, 72-58
Saint Vincent outscored host Waynesburg by 23 points in the second half and rallied for a 72-58 victory in the opening round of the PAC men’s basketball tournament.
Waynebsurg led 36-27 at halftime. Waynesburg continued to lead throughout the first 10 minutes of the second period, before Saint Vincent (3-7) grabbed a 49-48 edge with 9:18 remaining. The game was decided in the final six minutes, when Saint Vincent outscored Waynesburg 21-6.
Isaiah Alonzo had a double-double for Waynesburg with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Matt Popeck added 14 points and eight rebounds, and freshman Jansen Knotts had 11 points.
Saint Vincent had a big edge at the free-throw line, making 17 of 29 while Waynesburg was 3-for-7.
Waynesburg ends the season with a 3-7 record.