Coming off a 71-68 loss to Saint Vincent, Wednesday, Jan. 31, the women’s basketball team was back in action Saturday, Feb. 3, against Westminster. The Yellow Jackets coasted to victory, defeating the Titans, 73-57. For head coach Sam Jones, keeping possession of the basketball in the second half was key to the win.

“I thought we took care of the ball well in the second half,” said Jones. “We only had five turnovers, which is something we knew we needed to change at halftime. I thought that we did a fairly better job paying attention to detail defensively, not perfect, but better. And I thought that we shot the ball well at times and made 14-of-18 free throws in the fourth quarter and I will always take that.”

Waynesburg (12-9, 8-6) started the game off hot, jumping out to a 17-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets piled it on the Titans (7-14, 3-11) in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 43-23 lead.

Out of Waynesburg’s 43 first half points, senior forward Addy Knetzer had 12 and senior Mackenna Drazich had 10 points. Having a balanced lineup, Jones said, is something that has been essential for Waynesburg’s success all season long.

“Anytime we can be well-rounded—that will make us hard to defend,” said Jones. “So, I was definitely happy about that.”

With a well-established lead at the half, the Yellow Jackets rolled easily in the second half to secure the 16-point victory.

Four of Waynesburg’s five starters scored 13 or more points, including Drazich and Knetzer with 18 each.  Junior guard Monica Starre had 15 points and senior guard Rachel Eng added 13 points.

The Yellow Jackets are now tied for fourth place in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference with Grove City.

Overall, Jones saw the win over Westminster as a step forward as the regular season nears its end.

“I thought we took another step towards playing the best basketball in the end of the year,” said Jones. “Even though it may not be perfect yet and we need to change some things here and there I think that we are moving in the right direction.”

Saturday the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets will travel to Crestview Hills, Kentucky to take on the Thomas More Saints. The last win for the Yellow Jackets over the Saints dates back to Jan. 18, 2006. Since then Waynesburg is 0-26 against Thomas More.

Thomas More is currently undefeated in the PAC with a 14-0 conference record and a 20-1 overall record. The Saints are on a 19-game winning streak, which Jones and the Yellow Jackets hope to end.

The last matchup between Waynesburg and Thomas More, Thomas More won 89-63. Waynesburg shot under 40 percent from the floor while Thomas More shot just over 45 percent. For both teams, the majority of their points came inside the paint, the Yellow jackets had 32 points in the paint and the Saints had 50 points in the paint.