NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College women's basketball team defeated Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) foe Waynesburg University by a score of 76-60 at home in a PAC Championship Tournament Quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday evening.
The win was the Titans' 20
th victory of the season, which marked the first 20-win season since the 2006-07 campaign and only the third 20-win season in program history.
Westminster (20-6) got off to an early 16-11 lead over Waynesburg (8-19) at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Titans utilized an 8-0 run capped off by a jumper by sophomore
Magen Polczynski (Irwin, PA / Norwin) to grant the Titans a 24-11 lead with 8:02 left in the half. Westminster extended its lead to 39-20 when junior
Alazia Greaves (West Sunbury, PA / Moniteau) buried a jumper in the waning seconds of the frame. The Titans led by the same at intermission.
In the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets mounted a comeback, outscoring the Titans 26-13 in the period to cut the deficit to 52-46 with only one quarter to play (Waynesburg got as close as four points (48-44) with 3:05 on the clock). In the fourth frame, the ever-resilient Titans responded with an 11-4 run of their own to extend their lead to 63-50 with 6:05 left in the game. The Titans fended off the Yellow Jackets' attempts at a run for the rest of the game and punched their ticket to the PAC Semifinals.
Westminster shot 43.9% from the floor (29-66) compared to Waynesburg's 32.8% (22-67). The Titans also shot 73.9% (17-23) from the free throw line. Westminster dominated the Yellow Jackets on the glass (52-36) and forced 14 Waynesburg turnovers. The Titans scored 15 points off of those miscues, to go along with 24 fast-break points.
Polczynski led the way for Westminster, recording a game-high and tying a career-high with 20 points on a 7-for-14 mark from the field. Polczynski also pulled down five rebounds and snatched a pair of steals.
Greaves notched the first double-double of her career with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Greaves also had a game-high four steals. First-year
Camden Hergenrother (Salem, OH / Cardinal Mooney) was right behind with a career-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Senior
Kayla Bennett (Kent, OH / Theodore Roosevelt) dropped 13 points, finished with eight rebounds and a game-high three blocks, while classmate
Emily Fromknecht (Erie, PA / McDowell) earned a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with eight points.
Westminster will be back on the court on Friday, February 28 when it travels to Latrobe, PA to take on the No. 2 seeded Grove City College Wolverines in the semifinals of the PAC Tournament on the campus of Saint Vincent College.
