The women’s basketball team defeated Bethany this past Wednesday, 82-71.

The Yellow Jackets scored 30 points in the fourth to come back after entering the fourth down by six. Waynesburg also managed to score 26 points off of Bethany’s 16 turnovers.

In the first quarter, both teams played defense, with Waynesburg shooting four-for-17 from the field, three-for-11 from the three-point line, and not taking any free throws. The score was 11-14 at the end of the first.

The second quarter continued with a defensive performance, with neither team scoring for the first two minutes. The Yellow Jackets shot five for 18 from the field, two for nine from three-point range, and three for four from the free throw line. 

The half ended with Waynesburg down by three, 26-29.

In the second half, Waynesburg’s offense started to come alive, doubling the amount of points the team had in the first half in the third quarter, shooting 11-for-16 from the field and four-for-four from three. The team ended the quarter still trailing Bethany though, 52-58. 

In the fourth quarter, Waynesburg would overcome being down by six, shooting eight-for-14 from the field, three-for-six from three, and 11-for-13 from the free throw line. Waynesburg would run away with the game, winning 82-71.

Junior Kara McFadden leads the team in scoring this match, scoring 23 points this match. McFadden talked about what worked for her to keep scoring points.

“I was starting to get my other teammates open and that put more pressure on the defense and got me more shots. It was just one of those nights where they were just falling. Once I hit a few 3s, I was able to get to the rim and find a few of my teammates and then I was able to get to the rim or pull up for midrange,” McFadden said. “My teammates were finding me and I was just able to knock them down.”

McFadden also said what the team’s biggest factor has been over this six game win streak.

“The biggest factor is our composure and resilience we have had during those games. We’ve had a few games in this 6-game win streak where we were down by at least 10 and we held our composure and stayed calm and was able to bounce back and get the lead,” McFadden said.  “Our bench energy and energy on the court has also been a huge factor in being able to get to those wins.”

Junior Julz Mohrbacher tied for leading the team in rebounds with eight, and led the team in steals with three. Mohrbacher gave her thoughts on how the rebounding and steals helped control the pace of the game.

“I think that rebounds and steals helped control the pace of the game because it put the ball in our hands more. We were able to take possession of our defensive stops and then control how the game went,” Mohrbacher said. “Also, I feel that us controlling the boards and the defensive end in general helped us to really stop any momentum that they would have, or even if they did go on a small run, we were confident in being in control on defense to then pick it back up.” 

Mohrbacher also mentioned what needs to stay consistent for the team over the last three games to get into the Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament.

“First and foremost, our defense needs to be consistent because we are at our best when we are communicating and all working really hard on defense. We also need to keep our pace up on the offensive end, taking smart shots and playing good team basketball, while getting lots of assists across the board,” Mohrbacher said. 

Waynesburg now sits at 12-10 overall and 8-5 in PAC play, and is tied with Chatham for the last playoff spot in the PAC South Division. 

The Yellow Jackets will be on the road heading up to face Grove City this Saturday, Feb. 14th. Tip-off is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.