Waynesburg defeated St.Vincent on the road this past Wednesday, 77-68. The team has now won four straight games and is looking to make a push for a spot in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament.

This matchup featured 12 lead changes, with the score tied three times.

The Yellow Jackets started the game slowly in shooting, missing all six three-point attempts, along with shooting five of 11 from the field and two of five from the free throw line in the first quarter to go down 22-12 at the end of the quarter.

Into the second quarter, scores stayed the same for the first 3:28 of the quarter until Waynesburg scored a lay-up. Waynesburg continued to push back, shooting eight of 17 from the field, four of nine from three, and one for two at the free throw line. 

The Yellow Jackets tied the game 33-33 by the end of the first half.

The Yellow Jackets continued to show a strong performance in the third quarter, going 7-18 from the field, four for eight from the three-point line, and two of three from the free throw line. 

A late free throw by St. Vincent would give Waynesburg a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter with the score at 53-52.

Waynesburg ran away with the lead in the fourth, shooting six for 12 from the field, two of four from three, and 10/16 at the free throw line. The Yellow Jackets won the game 77-68.

Waynesburg is now 10-10 overall and 6-5 in the conference, looking to get one of the four spots available in the PAC tournament.

Junior Mia Henkins was the team’s leading scorer this game with 20 points. Henkins said about what made the team’s offense so effective this match.

“Being in the right place at the right time and taking advantage of their defense, taking breaks at times, was the key to our offense tonight. The team and myself was able to get a lot of layups off of back-door cuts, and because of how high-tempo the game was,” Henkins said. “Offensively, we wanted to push as much as we could and execute the sets called for us, which were pretty successful.”

Henkins also explained the importance of the win for the team as the team gets into the final stretch of the season.

“This win is debatably our most important win so far this season because it sets us up for a possible playoff spot. After last night, we are tied in the fourth and final playoff spot for the South division with Chatham, who we have coming up,” Henkins said. “Getting this win under our belt is just another step in the right direction of what we want to achieve this season.”

Senior Clara-Paige Miller was the team’s leader in rebounds in the match with 11. Miller explained the importance of getting rebounds in this game against St. Vincent. 

“I knew rebounding would be crucial in this game because St. Vincent has strong posts & we were expecting a close game. I knew we could use any extra possessions we could get,” Miller said.

Miller also expressed why the team is looking forward to the next game. 

“We are excited about our game on Saturday. There should be a good crowd with it being Senior Day & Alumni Day, so we are looking forward to adding on in the win column,” Miller said.

The Yellow Jackets’ next matchup is at home against Hiram on Saturday, Feb. 5. The game will tip-off at 1:00 p.m.