Yellow Jackets top Grove City in PAC opener
WAYNESBURG — In Waynesburg’s first five non-conference games, the offense was stagnant.
Whether it was poor shot selection, inconsistent shooting on the floor or just the fact that the ball couldn’t get in the hoop, the men’s team was frustrated.
The Yellow Jackets brought a more aggressive approach to their Presidents’ Athletic Conference opener against Grove City on Wednesday, and that translated into an 81-71 win.
Waynesburg shot 30 of 39 from the foul line and was able to control the size of Grove City in spurts to pull out the win.
“I loved our composure in the second half,” Waynesburg coach Mark Christner said. “There’s no doubt we had our struggles on offense to begin the year, but we never put our heads down. We really picked it up in practice this week and I think hot shooting is just contagious. We were more aggressive on offense, and our confidence just grew.”
Matt Popeck led the Yellow Jackets (1-0, 2-4) in scoring with 21 points and was a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line.
Nate Gearhart poured in 19 points off the bench and had three of Waynesburg’s seven three-point field goals. Frank Bozicevic added 13 points, and Brennan Smith scored eight.
James Wells led the Wolverines (0-1, 2-3) with 24 points, and Monessen graduate Justin Rice collected 20 points and eight rebounds.
It was a slow-moving first half, both teams were in the bonus just seven minutes into the contest.
After Grove City jumped out to a 6-2 edge, Waynesburg battled back with a 14-8 run then increased its lead to 27-20 with eight unanswered points.
The Yellow Jackets led 37-31 at intermission.
In the second half, the squads exchanged baskets for the majority of the final 20 minutes and Waynesburg pushed its lead to 61-51 with five consecutive points by Popeck.
After two free throws by Wells brought the deficit down to 66-61, Waynesburg answered with 15 of the final 25 points to prevail at home. Rice had the final eight points for Grove City, as the comeback attempt failed in the final minutes.
“Grove City is so long and they do a good job of switching on you,” Christner said. “We battled down the stretch and we never backed down. We made out shots, and we made a lot of contested shots. It was huge to get a win in the opener and I think you have to win your home games in the conference. We are just hoping to continue this momentum.”
Women
Grove City 93, Waynesburg 52: Grove City was able to use its size and defensive pressure to overwhelm Waynesburg in the conference opener for both teams.
The Wolverines (1-0, 4-2) shot 49 percent from the field, held a 46-22 rebound advantage and forced 27 turnovers.
“We stuck to our style and really sped up the game,” Grove City coach Chelle Fuss said. “We forced some turnovers and controlled the tempo. Our height was a factor and when we win the rebound battle, we are going to win most games. Waynesburg is always a tough team, and they are never out of it.”
Kate Balcom led all scorers with 23 points, and the junior forward also added eight rebounds and four assists. Sedona Campbell scored 16 points off the bench, and the visitors got strong games from Jess Bowen (15) and Laura Buchanan (14).
“Kate waited her turn and she has really taken over that lead scorer position for us,” Fuss said. “She has a nice mid-range jumper, but she can also drive to the basket. Our role players are stepping up and we are getting nice contributions off our bench.”
Brooke Fuller led the Yellow Jackets (0-1, 2-4) with 19 points and six rebounds. Elena McDermott tallied 13 points and nailed three 3-pointers. Andrea Orlosky scored nine points.
“Their size and pressure really frustrated us tonight,” Waynesburg coach Sam Jones said. “It was just a bad match-up. We are young, and the press got to us. They controlled a lot tonight and we just couldn’t get a flow on offense.”
After a basket by McDermott gave Waynesburg an early 6-4 lead, Grove City responded with seven straight points for an 11-6 advantage.
The Yellow Jackets trimmed the deficit to 11-10 after two foul shots by Orlosky and a hoop by Fuller, but the Wolverines countered with an 11-2 spree that was capped by a last-second, 3-pointer off the backboard by Bowen.
Grove City kept the pressure on to start the second quarter with the opening nine points then pushed its lead to 45-17 after a 12-3 spurt. The squads traded points to end the first half, but the visitors held a commanding 49-20 lead.
The Wolverines maintained their lead with a 20-12 scoring edge in the third quarter then started out the final frame with an 11-4 spree to secure the conference triumph.
“We played better in the second half,” Jones said. “It’s never fun to lose, no matter if its by one point or 20 points. We will learn from this and build off of it. It’s one game and we have to grow from it. We shot pretty good tonight at 45 percent, but we gave away the ball too much. We have to value the basketball better.”