WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 8) – It was a tough night for the Waynesburg University women’s basketball team, as Grove City College doubled the Yellow Jackets’ point total 88-44 Wednesday night in the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
“We’re getting there,” Waynesburg head coach Sam Jones said. “I would like our progression to be going a little bit faster right now than it is, but we are still progressing. I’m not happy by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m just trying to make sure we continue to progress.”
Waynesburg lost its last nine games, with its last win coming against Franciscan University on Jan. 5. The Jackets are 2-15 in conference play and out of playoff contention.
The Jackets and Wolverines stayed close for the first two minutes of the game before Grove City took the lead for good with 7:39 left in the first. By halftime, Grove City led Waynesburg 55-28.
Waynesburg made adjustments and went on a 12-2 run in the first six minutes of the third quarter to make it 57-40. Grove City, however, scored the next eight points of the quarter and proceeded to outscore Waynesburg 23-4 in the fourth.
The key differences in this game were rebounds and turnovers. Grove City had 56 rebounds to Waynesburg’s 36. Waynesburg also committed 23 rebounds to Grove City’s 13. The Wolverines scored 34 points off turnovers, while the Jackets scored just five.
“We really wanted to take care of the basketball better,” Jones said. “And we wanted to rebound better. Two things we talked about a lot, and I don’t think we did a great job for large portions of the night unfortunately.”
Freshman center Tori Wesolowski finished the game with 10 points, three rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Freshman forward Emma Seto grabbed nine rebounds and scored six points.
“I thought I played pretty good,” Wesolowski said. “Always room for improvement. I could have played better to get the win for my team. Coming from the past few games I felt like I was in a rut. I was happy with my performance overall.”
Seto exited the game after getting hit in the face by a Grove City player in the second quarter. She returned for the second half to finish the game with the highest efficiency of her team.
“She’s just got a cut over her eye,” Jones said. “She’s doing alright. She’s a tough kid and a great player.”
The Jackets host top conference opponent Washington and Jefferson College at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. for Senior Day.