Presidents’ Day: W&J wins PAC men’s, women’s basketball titles
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington & Jefferson forward Victoria Loeck claims her piece of the net as she celebrates the Presidents’ win over Westminster in the PAC women’s basketball championship game.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
It’s mayhem at midcourt as the Washington & Jefferson women’s team storms the floor to celebrate their PAC chamionship victory over Westminster.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
W&J’s Jina DeRubbo was voted the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year. W&J’s Ethan Stewart-Smith was named the PAC Men’s Coach of the Year.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Sarah Berardelli looks for a lane past Westminster's Lindsay Bell.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington & Jefferson's Piper Morningstar floats past Westminster's Mackenzie Powell in second-half action.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter
Westminster's Camden Hergenrother (14) comes over the top to block W&J's Bryn Bezjak in first-half action.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington & Jefferson’s Meghan Dryburgh lays in two of the nine points she scored in the Presidents’ PAC tournament championship win over Westminster.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Westminster's Natalie Murrio sets up defensively as W&J's Meghan Dryburgh drives to the basket during the Presidents' 58-42 PAC championship win.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
W&J’s Aleena McDaniel, left, reaches out to teammate Meghan Dryburgh (23) as time expires and the Presidents win the PAC tournament championship with a 58-42 victory over Westminster at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.
Washington & Jefferson ended two long droughts Saturday by winning Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament championships in both men’s and women’s basketball.
The Presidents’ top-seeded women’s team used a strong defensive effort to top second-seeded Westminster 58-42 to start the title doubleheader at Salvitti Family Gymnasium. The Presidents have won six PAC titles. It is their first since 2005-06.
The win is the 11th straight for the Presidents, who will enter the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 23-4 record.
The top-seeded W&J men’s team capped the night by defeating second-seeded Chatham, 68-63. The Presidents trailed for more than 36 minutes but rallied late to win the program’s first PAC title since the 1994-95 season.
The Presidents (24-4) extend their record-breaking season into the NCAA Division III Tournament. W&J will be in the national tournament for the first time since 1993-94, when it advanced to the Elite Eight.
Women’s game
The Presidents led 16-12 after the first quarter before carrying a 28-23 advantage into halftime. A strong third quarter allowed W&J to extend its lead to double figures. The Presidents outscored the Titans by a 16-8 margin during the pivotal third quarter as they limited Westminster to only three field goals.
Three Presidents scored in double figures. W&J was led by Sarah Berardelli, who had 11 points and seven rebounds. Aleena McDaniel put together a strong performance off the bench. The senior had 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Victoria Koeck made four of five shots and finished with 10 points.
W&J held a 17-0 advantage in bench points and a 38-31 rebounding edge. The Presidents converted 16 of 20 from the free throw line. The Titans made just four-of-11 free throw chances.
Westminster junior Natalie Murrio led all scorers with 19 points.
Berardelli was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Piper Morningstar and Meghan Dryburgh joined Berardelli on the All-Tournament Team.
Men’s game
Okikiola Agbale helped W&J turn the tide in the second half. The senior forward scored a season-high and game-high 18 points off the bench. Agbale converted all six of his field-goal attempts and made six-of-seven free throws. Agbale was named the PAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Joining Agbale on the All-Tournament Team from W&J were sophomores Nick Gearhart and J.R. Mazza.
Chatham jumped out to an early 9-2 lead less than four minutes into the game. The Cougars stretched the lead into double digits (18-8) when Nick Bomar made a layup.. The Presidents found their footing offensively midway through the half. W&J used a 10-2 run to close the gap to 30-28 on a three-pointer by Gearhart. A steal and three-point basket by Malik Potter just before the halftime buzzer gave the Cougars a 38-32 advantage.
A three-pointer by Mazza brought the Presidents within 40-39. However, the Cougars pushed the lead back to eight points (59-51) on a Potter jump shot with 9:18 to play. W&J scored eight consecutive points and pulled within one a layup by Agbale with 3:59 remaining. W&J took its first lead on a three-pointer by Mazza that made it 63-61 with 2:58 to play.
Mazza was fouled on a three-point attempt and converted all three free throws to extend the lead to 66-61 with 1:25 left. Chatham made it a single-possession game after a layup by Potter with 16 seconds left but W&J converted two free throws to secure the win.
The PAC title is the 10th for W&J.
Forty-four conferences have been granted automatic qualification to this year’s 64-team NCAA tournament. Pairings will be announced Monday. First- and second-round games are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
W&J student expelled
A Washington & Jefferson student was ejected from the games Saturday for holding up an insensitive sign aimed at Westminster women’s basketball player Lindsay Bell.
The student, who was a member of the Presidents’ football team, was later expelled from the school.
On his twitter account, Mike Sirianni, the school’s head football coach, apologized to Bell for the action of the W&J student.
“I am embarrassed and appalled,” Sirianni posted on his Twitter account, “but mostly my heart aches for Lindsay and her family. I am so sorry Lindsay.”
In a release, the college said “this type of behavior has no place at W&J, and is contrary to our values as an institution.”
It went on to say that “this student’s actions are not representative of the W&J community.”