Entering Saturday’s game, the Grove City women’s basketball team arrived at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse with the top-ranked scoring offense and defense in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

At the end of the day, the Wolverines [15-2, 7-2] left Greene County having increased both averages, holding the Yellow Jackets [4-14, 3-6] to the lowest point total scored in their last five games on their way to an 84-65.

“We came out a little timid, didn’t take care of the ball and we didn’t box out well,” Waynesburg coach Sam Jones said. “I think those few things really cost us.”

As a result of the Grove City full-court press, which was applied continually throughout the entirety of the afternoon, the Jackets committed 28 turnovers and allowed the Wolverines to steal the ball 18 times.

Grove City opened the game with a 19-4 run, eventually ending the first quarter with a 31-17 lead. Fortunately for the Jackets, things would get better.

Sophomore center Brooke Fuller scored 18 points in the loss, and Waynesburg kept things tight for most of the second quarter. However, Grove City closed out the first half strong and took a 53-38 advantage into the locker room.

“I thought a lot of it was unfortunately self-inflicted,” Jones said. “We didn’t cover the in bounder or the shooter [well], and then we don’t box out and give up a wide-open layup. It was important because it gave them momentum going back into the second half.”

Waynesburg surrendered only 13 and 18 points respectively in the third and fourth quarters, but only put in 27 points of their own in the second half. Senior guard Erin Joyce contributed 11 points and was 3-for-3 from three-point range.

Grove City junior guard Jess Bowen led the way offensively for the Wolverines with 22 points, shooting 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.

“She’s very versatile, a good shooter from outside, but she can get to the rim,” Jones said. “She’s super athletic and has a motor that just doesn’t stop, so she can get you in about three different ways.”

Waynesburg shot 9-of-15 from outside the arc, comparted to just 10-52 combined in its last two games. This is an improvement Jones was happy to see.

“We shot the ball better from outside, which the last two games, even though we’d won, we didn’t shoot well from outside,” Jones said. “I think we showed ourselves, in moments, we can play with one of the top teams in the PAC. We just have to be a little more consistent throughout the entire game.”

Next up, the Chatham Cougars will visit Waynesburg at 5:30 Wednesday evening. Chatham is another team that applies the press, and he believes confidence will be the key to handling it. 

“When we play confidently, we can accomplish some good things,” Jones said. “There’s a silver-lining in there, but I think it was important for us to see that.”