Bison hold off Waynesburg, 66-63

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

• Box Score

BETHANY, W.Va. (Jan. 20) - A defensive stand in the final seconds helped the Bethany College women's basketball team knock off Waynesburg 66-63 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game Saturday afternoon inside the Hummel Field House.

The win improves the Bison to 8-9 overall, 5-5 in the PAC. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets fall to 6-4 in league play, 10-7 overall this season.

Senior forward Kelsea Daugherty (Newport, Ohio/Frontier) split a pair of free throws with nine seconds left in the fourth quarter to give Bethany a 66-63 lead. Waynesburg used a timeout to advance the ball and setup a play to tie the game. The Yellow Jackets got off a contested look, but it rimmed out and allowed the Bison to claim the victory.

Daugherty had one of her strongest performances of the season. She matched a season-high with 32 points and established season-highs with 16 rebounds (six offensive) and five steals. Daugherty, who played all 40 minutes, made a season-high 13 field goals on 19 attempts (68 percent) and was 6-of-7 at the free-throw line.

Freshmen Alison Kuhn (Lewisville, Ohio/Monroe Central) and Makayla Reynolds (Buckhannon, W.Va./Buckhannon-Upshur) each added 10 points, while junior guard Ashley Duthie (Madison, Ohio/Madison) chipped in eight points and five steals.

The Bison shot the ball well early on and took a 12-4 lead five minutes into the game with the help of a Daugherty layup. Waynesburg knocked down back-to-back shots to slice the lead to three, 12-9, but Bethany maintained the edge throughout the quarter and took a 20-13 lead into the first intermission.

The Green & White enjoyed its first double-digit advantage of the day four minutes into the second quarter when freshman Janaya Hazlip (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) drained a three pointer to put Bethany ahead 27-17 with 5:57 left until halftime. Three-consecutive made shots by Waynesburg's Addy Knetzer, including a traditional three-point play, and a three-point shot Erin Joyce helped the Yellow Jackets get within five, 34-29, in the final two minutes of the first half. Bethany held off the rally and managed to take a 35-29 lead into the locker rooms.

Waynesburg played its best quarter of the game after halftime. Bethany led 41-34 with 5:40 left in the third quarter, when the Yellow Jackets went on a 12-5 run to tie the game at 46-46 with 2:33 remaining in the period. Reynolds drained consecutive buckets to rebuild the Bison lead to four, before Bethany took a 50-48 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Yellow Jackets opened the fourth quarter with a basket-and-one to take their first and only lead of the game at 51-50. Bethany responded with an 11-4 spurt that gave it a 61-55 advantage with just under six minutes left in the contest. Waynesburg battled back with five-straight points to close within one, but layups by Kuhn and Reynolds gave the Bison a 65-60 lead with 3:55 remaining in the game. Waynesburg converted a trio of free throws to pull within two points, 65-63, entering the final minute of the game. The Yellow Jackets were held without a field goal for the final five minutes of the game.

Bethany as a team shot 27-of-62 (44 percent) from the field. The Bison held a slight edge with a 32 to 30 advantage in points in the paint.

Knetzer for Waynesburg led the Yellow Jackets with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bison will travel to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, January 24 to take on Geneva in a PAC contest at 5:30 p.m.