Local roundup: Waynesburg women close strong, beat Thiel
Waynesburg University trailed 58-56 after three quarters but outscored visiting Thiel 19-5 in the fourth to pull out a 75-63 PAC win in women’s college basketball action Saturday.
Madisen Dayton led Waynesburg (9-11, 14-11) with 18 points and Julz Mohrbacher followed with 13 points along with 13 rebounds. The Yellow Jackets also got 11 points from Kara McFadden, 10 from Mia Henkins and eight points and nine assists from Kalista Friday.
Issy Green tallied a game-high 22 points for Thiel.
Penn State Fayette 60, Penn State Greater Allegheny 55 – Sophia Zalar rang up 30 points and Penn State Fayette held off visiting Penn State Greater Allegheny to end its season on a winning note in a PSUAC game.
Fayette built a 24-10 lead in the first quarter and led by as much as 17 before fending off a late Greater Allegheny rally.
Zalar, a Carmichaels graduate who scored 33 against Greater Allegheny in an 80-61 road win on Feb. 4, made 13 of 19 shots this time while also coming up with nine rebounds and three steals.
Takiah Cheathon added 14 points, five assists and four steals for Fayette (4-13, 6-19) which also got 13 points with three 3-pointers, nine rebounds and three assists from Heaven Grumm.
Fayette led 24-7 after a Reagan Rudder 3-pointer late in the first quarter and was up 34-27 at halftime and 46-40 after three quarters. Fayette built its lead back up to nine twice in the fourth quarter.
Greater Allegheny (1-16, 1-18) whittled the gap to two with 8:23 left on a basket by Peyton Smith but Zalar responded with back-to-back layups to push the margin up to 50-44.
Greater Allegheny got within three on a Smith layup with 46 seconds left but a free throw by Cheathon with 39 seconds remaining made it a two-possession game and Fayette hung on from there.
Smith paced PSGA with 24 points and Tomisha Pierce had 19.
Men’s basketball
Thiel 66, Waynesburg 51 – Mike Brown and Khamari Accursio-Harris each scored 17 points as the Tomcats handed the Yellow Jackets a PAC home loss in their season finale.
Thiel rolled to a 36-21 halftime lead and stayed in control the rest of the way.
Marlon Ellerbee had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Tomcats (8-12, 9-15) who also got 10 points from Gabriel Gonzalez.
Antone Baker totaled 14 points, six rebounds and three steals for Waynesburg (5-15, 7-18), Jalen Goins added 11 points.
Wednesday, Feb. 19
Franciscan 78, Waynesburg 61 – Sawyer Butler made seven 3-pointers in scoring 35 points and Franciscan rode a strong finish to a PAC win over visiting Waynesburg University in a PAC men’s basketball game.
The Yellow Jackets built a 32-27 halftime lead but the Barons rallied and went ahead to stay, 41-39, on Josh Zimmerman’s 3-pointer with 14:19 remaining.
Franciscan (10-9, 15-9) pushed its lead up to six but Waynesburg fought back and got to within 49-48 on Jalen Goins 3-pointer with 10:22 left.
The Barons answered with an 11-point run and were never threatened again.
Travis Zimmerman (11) and Josh Zimmerman (10) also hit double digits in scoring for Franciscan.
Jaylen Davis totaled 14 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots for the Yellow Jackets (5-14, 7-17). PJ Suggs also scored 14 points for Waynesburg.
Women’s basketball
Waynesburg 79, Franciscan 58 – The Yellow Jackets clinched their first winning season since 2018 with a PAC victory at Franciscan.
Waynesburg (8-11, 13-11) trailed 29-26 at halftime but outscored the Barons 25-12 in the third quarter to take a 51-41 lead then pulled away from there.
Mia Henkins paced the Yellow Jackets with five 3-pointers and a career-high 21 points and Tori Wesolowski totaled 17 points and six blocked shots. Waynesburg also got 12 points from Madisen Dayton and 10 from Kara McFadden.
Carolin Reedy tossed in a game-high 25 points for Franciscan (2-17, 2-22) which also got 10 points from Jazzlyn Melnyk.
Penn State Shenango 71, Penn State Fayette 47 – Hailee Aguinago had 19 points and nine rebounds as Penn State Shenango rolled past visiting Penn State Fayette in a PSUAC game.
Jaysina Sellers chipped with 14 points and seven steals and Shar’Da Williamson added 10 points for Shenango (13-3, 15-7).
Carmichaels graduate Sophia Zalar led Fayette (3-13, 5-19) with 13 points and also had six rebounds and two blocked shots. Heaven Grumm totaled 10 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Tuesday, Feb. 18
Mohawk 59, Waynesburg Central 40 – Bobby Fadden scored a game-high 27 points as the third-seeded Warriors defeated the visiting Raiders in a WPIAL Class 3A boys basketball first-round game.
Drew Wrona (17) and Joey Nail (11) also hit double figures for Mohawk (18-5).
The score was tied 13-13 after one quarter but the Warriors gradually pulled away from there and were up 26-19 at halftime and 38-25 after three.
Alex Eck turned in a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds for 14th-seeded Waynesburg (9-14). The Raiders also got 11 points and four assists from Cole Headlee, 10 points from Dane Woods and four assists from Austin Surber.
Girls basketball
Aliquippa 79, Carmichaels 6 – Carla Brown tossed in 33 points as second-seeded Aliquippa rolled past the visiting Lady Mikes in a WPIAL Class 2A first-round playoff game.
Yaree Carter added 12 points for the Lady Quips (17-4).
Joselyn Carter scored three points for No. 15 Carmichaels (3-19).