Despite a thumping on Saturday at the hands of Grove City, one could say Waynesburg has the upper hand against Chatham tonight.

Waynesburg had won its previous two games prior to the 19-point loss. The Jackets throttled Thiel 93-40 back Jan. 18 and clawed back to beat Bethany on the road a week ago.

As for the Lady Cougars, they are on a two-game losing streak with road losses to St. Vincent and Westminster.

Almost two months ago Waynesburg fell to Chatham by 18 points. While 18 may sound like a lot, head coach Sam Jones broke it down easily.

“We had one bad quarter that lost us the game,” Jones said. “In that quarter, we had too many unforced turnovers and allowed them too many offensive rebounds that gave them more possessions.”

Sophomore Brooke Fuller led Waynesburg with 21 points in the first meeting with Chatham, and shot 9-11 from the field. 

Fuller said if she can find the same success in the post again tonight, she likes her teams’ chances.

“I think our best option against Chatham is getting the ball down low,” Fuller said. “We just have to play better defense and not turn the ball over so much.”

For Chatham, they were led by the two-headed monster of graduate student Emily Ondo and sophomore Kaitlyn Fertig, who scored 30 and 21 points, respectively. 

Jones said shutting them down is a top priority.

“We just have to keep them in front of us,” Jones said. “We can’t let them get to the rim for easy baskets.”

Overall this season, Ondo averages 19.3 points per game, and Fertig comes in with 18.5. Those numbers are good for first and second in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.. 

Fuller also ranks among the top in scoring in the PAC. She posts a 15.7 points per game average which puts her sixth overall.

When it comes to the keys for tonight’s matchup, Jones sees it  as what should be a simple task.

“Take care of the basketball and box out.” Jones said. “When we do those things we’re okay, when we don’t, we struggle.”