After a quick start and building an early lead Wednesday evening, the Waynesburg University women’s basketball team dropped their sixth game of the season to Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) rival Washington & Jefferson, 83-72.

The battle of the second and third place teams in the PAC saw the Yellow Jackets (10-6, 6-3) outscored the Presidents (14-2, 8-1), 24-14 in the first quarter, which was a direct result of a 16-6 run led by seniors Addy Knetzer and Mackenna Drazich.

“I was pretty happy with our energy coming out, and we had great ball movement, knocking down some shots,” said Jones. “I was pretty pleased with the first quarter for the most part.”

Knetzer shot 72 percent from the field and, while not typically known for her long-range shot, went 2-3 from beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 24 points. She also played 34 minutes and grabbed seven rebounds.

“[Knetzer] has done a really good job of becoming more consistent, getting in position and finishing around the rim for sure,” said Jones.

The three-point game is a large part of the team’s offensive strategy, according to Jones. The Jackets made some key three-point shots Wednesday evening, but overall only shot 38 percent from beyond the arc.

“[Drazich] was good from behind the arc. We are a little bit down from some other places, but the three is something that we like to use,” said Jones. “[Drazich] is shooting it really well and it definitely jump started us in the beginning of the game and got us back into it once we fell behind. When we made a little bit of a comeback, it was the three that ignited us.”

On the defensive side, Waynesburg struggled during the second half, as it was outscored 48-33.

The Jackets trailed 64-57 entering the fourth quarter. After some three-point shots and a layup by Knetzer, the team pulled within six, 72-66.

W&J prevailed late in the fourth, not allowing the Yellow Jackets to bring it any closer than that six point difference.

After outrebounding the Jackets 38-34 and forcing 15 turnovers, the Presidents left the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse with their eighth conference victory. The win extended their record to 14-2 overall and 8-1 in conference action, giving W&J sole possession of second place in the PAC.

According to Jones, the focus before the next game lines up with a lot of continuing issues from other losses this season.

“We just have to be more consistent on the defensive end,” said Jones. “Pay attention to detail and offensively we need to be better with our ball movement.”

The Jackets are now 10-6 overall and 6-3 in the PAC, sitting in a tie for third place with Grove City and Saint Vincent.

The Jackets will travel to Bethany, West Virginia, for a PAC contest against Bethany this Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.