GREENVILLE, PA– The women’s basketball team did what it needed to do and completed a season sweep over winless Thiel Wednesday night. This game, however, looked much different than the first. 

Waynesburg [5-10, 6-18] had just a three-point lead at the half, but was able to run away with the second half on its way to a 79-58 win.

Head coach Sam Jones had a game plan coming out of the locker room for the second 20 minutes.

“Attention to detail, pick up the energy, pick up the pace, and start playing a little bit smarter,” Jones said.

For Jones, the key to the turnaround in the second half was the Jackets finally playing at a rhythm that suited them.

“We play better at a faster pace, so once we were able to get the pace where we wanted it, we got some easier hoops and then the confidence started to build and we got some stops as well,” he said.

Brooke Fuller led Waynesburg with 25 points, as well as a career-high 21 rebounds. One particular skill helped Fuller achieve her success.

“I really focused on boxing out just because one thing [our team] has struggled with is rebounding,” Fuller said. 

It may have been the best night of Fuller’s college career, and Jones knew she would match-up well against Thiel [0-24, 0-15]. 

“She’s a really good post player, and they don’t have a ton of size and they were throwing double teams at her,” Jones said. “She had a nice game.”

Waynesburg struggled in the first half, shooting only 35% from the floor. The team turned things around, shooting 42 percent in the second half.

There was a positive vibe in the locker room at halftime. Fuller’s teammates had encouraging words for her.

“[They don’t me] don’t worry about missing shots, just focus on making them,” Fuller said.

Fuller focused on making her shots because of her teammate’s faith in her.

“My teammates just kept passing and it gave me confidence,” Fuller said.

Senior Erin Joyce was one of Fuller’s teammates to trust her. Joyce finished with nine assists on the night.

Waynesburg outrebounded Thiel 62-35, including 16 from junior Andrea Orlosky. Orlosky added 19 points on the night.

Senior Alli Delaney was the third Jacket to reach double figures, picking up 11 points.

With the win, Waynesburg improves its record to 5-10 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and is now tied with Bethany for sixth place.

The Jackets return to the court Saturday, where they will play Bethany at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse at 1:30. If Waynesburg wins, it will host the Bison again in a first round playoff game Monday night.