The Waynesburg University women’s basketball team continued play this past Sunday, Nov. 19, in the Messiah College Hampton Inn Tip-Off Classic, where the Yellow Jackets fell to the SUNY Geneseo Knights 73-59.

According to head coach Sam Jones, the team improved from its first game by handling the ball better.

“The second half of this game we took care of the ball very well,” said Jones. “I was very pleased with how we responded and we played quite well.”

The Jackets were led by senior guard Mackenna Drazich, who paced the team with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Drazich also went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and pulled down five rebounds over her 27 minutes on the floor.

Drazich was one of the bright spots for the Jackets on Sunday and Jones was pleased with her effort.

“She played hard all weekend, obviously the shots were falling today which makes it great,” said Jones. “It was nice because she was doing the scoring early when no one else could hit and then everyone else kind of caught on eventually.”

Sophomore Erin Joyce also had a very productive day coming off the bench, racking up 13 points, 12 of them coming from beyond the arc.

According to Jones, having a good 3-point shooter will be essential to the Jackets offense.

“It’s important because it creates spacing on the floor, which opens up driving lanes and obviously opens up our inside game for our post players,” said Jones.

Senior forward Addy Knetzer also added 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds over her 25 minutes on the court.

Waynesburg trailed Geneseo throughout the first two quarters, but was able to outscore the Knights in the third and fourth quarters. The team put together a 19-point fourth quarter, but unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets, the deficit was too much to overcome. The final score left Geneseo on top 73-59.

Coming off the weekend, the Jackets are 0-2, but Jones remains positive about the team and the rest of the season.

“Obviously I am a little disappointed, I knew we had two very stiff tests in front us. I would have liked to have performed a little bit better overall,” said Jones. “I come away encouraged because most of our issues are very correctable.”

Waynesburg faced two high quality teams this weekend, according to Jones, and he is looking forward towards the rest of the season after using the two games as a gauge for the team.

“Obviously you never want to come and start the season 0-2 but I knew that was a possibility with the schedule,” said Jones. “It gives us a measuring stick of where we need to be because those are two great teams and that’s what we want to be, so I’m pleased with what I saw.”

Looking ahead, the Jackets will have a day off before their next game and Jones has a few points of emphasis to focus on in practice.

“Probably defensive rotation and being stronger with the ball,” said Jones.

The Yellow Jackets will return to action Tuesday, Nov. 21 when they host the Eagles of Bridgewater at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.