Bethany Rallies To Beat W&J
BETHANY, W. Va. -- Bethany College rallied from an 18-point second half deficit to defeat Washington & Jefferson College 68-60 in Presidents' Athletic Conference women's basketball action at Hummel Field House on Saturday afternoon.
The Presidents lost for just the second time in seven visits to Bethany, dropping their record to 10-11 overall (5-9 PAC), while the Bison upped their record to 13-8 (9-5).
Senior Ashley Kirkpatrick (Sharon, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) and freshman Alexa DelGreco (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle) combined to score the first 18 points for W&J, as the Presidents raced out to a four-point lead midway through the opening half.
W&J led by as many as 16 during the first 20 minutes and took a 38-26 advantage into halftime. Senior Blair Cotton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic) scored the team's final 10 points before intermission on 4-of-4 shooting.
The Presidents scored eight of the game's first 10 points in the second half before the Bison began their surge.
Trailing 46-28, Ty Harris sank a layup that began a 31-3 spurt for the Bison spanning 8:29. W&J made just 1-of-9 shots and committed six turnovers during the BC outburst. A pair of free throws by Kayla Taormina gave Bethany its first lead since the opening minutes at 51-49. The Bison would never relinquish their lead from that point.
Kirkpatrick produced game-highs with 22 points, 13 rebounds and three steals. Cotton shot 5-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and finished with 13 points.
DelGreco added 12 points, four rebounds and three assists, while senior point guard Vanessa Rivera (Reading, Pa./Wilson) dished out seven assists and netted four points.
Renee Shepherd and Audra Droginske paced the Bison with 15 points each. Shepherd also grabbed 10 rebounds, while Taormina recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.
The teams shot nearly identical percentages from the field with W&J hitting 37.3 percent (22-59) of its shots and Bethany draining 37.5 percent (21-56). The Bison held a 44-31 edge on the glass and sank 18-of-22 free throw attempts compared to 10-of-13 for the Presidents.
W&J returns to the Henry Memorial Center to face Saint Vincent at 8:00 pm on Wednesday. The Bearcats defeated the Presidents 72-59 in Latrobe in early January.
