Mar 3, 2011 By Adam Brewer For The 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – The Waynesburg University women’s basketball team grabbed its first lead after a three-pointer by Elisha Jones with 4:22 left and went on a 23-8 run to win its first-round game of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference South Tournament over Moravian College (Pa.) 68-62 Wednesday at Rudy Marissa Fieldhouse.

The Yellow Jackets (19-9) will host the remaining games in the ECAC South Tournament, starting with a semifinals match-up against Penn State Erie, the Behrend Campus, at 3 p.m. Saturday.

In the other semifinal, Alvernia University faces Catholic University at 6 p.m.

“I told them at halftime that we had to keep on shooting,” Yellow Jackets coach Sam Jones said. “I don’t want to know how many layups we missed in that first half. We were tight early on and as badly as we played in the first half and to be downed by only nine points, I take it. The shots came for us and we were able to box them out better in the second half.

“This is a new experience for our program. When our seniors were freshmen, they were 1-25. This definitely isn’t sailed waters for us, but we were able to keep on fighting. Hopefully on Saturday we can come out better.”

Waynesburg started out slow and got behind the 8-ball early on, as Moravian (14-13) opened the game on a 12-6 spree. The Yellow Jackets countered with a 10-4 run that knotted things 11:03 in the half.

The Greyhounds, who won the ECAC South Championship in 2007, recaptured momentum by ending the opening 20 minutes on a 17-8 rally and held a 33-24 lead at halftime.

In the second half, the Yellow Jackets displayed a more aggressive look on both ends of the court, as they started the final 20 minutes on a 15-6 push that tied the game at 39-39 with less than 13 minutes left.

Despite the rally by Waynesburg, Moravian once again responded and posted a 15-6 run after a trey by Amy Heffner put the Greyhounds up, 54-45. Heffner had a team-high 20 points and 13 rebounds for the visitors.

The Yellow Jackets took control the rest of the way by outhustling and making the key play when it needed it.

Jones scored 24 points and pulled in 12 boards, both team-highs. Jones, a four-time All-PAC team selection and first-team honoree this year, sank four free throws down the stretch to complete the come-from-behind victory.

“Elisha battled all night long in the paint,” Jones said. “She’s a first-team all-conference player and she showed why by her performance tonight. It wasn’t pretty. It was a tough, physical game for her on the inside. She kept on pounding away. She had been missing some jumpers all game long, but she was able to hit that three that gave us the lead late and that is what all-conference players do.”

Hannah Hunter was the sparkplug for Waynesburg in their final run, as she had 12 of her 16 points in the second half, while dishing out five assists.

“Hannah’s motor never turns off,” Jones said. “She is outstanding and was a strong force for us in the last couple of minutes. Hannah has worked her way and developed into a great player. She does what all great players do, and that is carrying your team when they need you the most in clutch situations in the playoffs.”

Jessi Drayer added 15 points for Waynesburg.

Moravian’s Emily Smith tallied 14 points.