Mar 6, 2011 By Adam Brewer For The 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – The Waynesburg University women’s basketball squad advanced to the ECAC South Tournament finals by beating Penn State-Behrend, 73-59, Saturday afternoon at the Rudy Marissa Fieldhouse.

The Yellow Jackets (20-9) had four players in double figures and reaches the 20-win plateau for only the second time in the school’s history. Waynesburg will try to set a record for most wins a season today, when it hosts Catholic University, who defeated Alvernia University, 64-52, in the finals at 2 p.m.

Unlike the first round of the tournament on Wednesday, Waynesburg started its semifinal game on the right foot and was able to hit some early shots against the Lady Lions (20-8).

Penn State-Behrend claimed an early 6-4 lead, but Waynesburg battled back with a 14-4 spree that gave the Yellow Jackets an 18-10 during the midway point of the first half.

“The girls came out and we were a lot looser than the last game,” coach Sam Jones said. “The shots fell for us and we got some early transition buckets. It was that simple. We have a good group of girls and they understand that this game is a long game and both teams are going to have their runs. Penn State-Behrend is a solid team and they won 20 games this year, so we knew they were not going away.”

In that crucial run for the Yellow Jackets, Brittany Spencer scored six points. Spencer, who was held scoreless the last time out and average around 10.5 points per game, had 10 of her 18 points in the opening 20 minutes. She also collected 10 rebounds and dished out five assists – both team highs – for the game.

“Brittany is a great athlete and she works hard every game,” Jones said. “I was expecting this type of game from her after Wednesday’s game. She played a good game for us that night, but she didn’t shoot well. I knew she was going to come into the game with a little extra focus.”

The Yellow Jackets ended the first half with a 3-pointer by Hannah Hunter that gave them a 32-23 lead.

In the second half, Hunter opened play with another shot from beyond the arc. With the score at 37-28, Waynesburg’s Jessi Drayer scored eight consecutive points for the Jackets as they held a 45-33 advantage with 15:07 left. Drayer ended her afternoon with 17 points, while Hunter added 13.

The Lady Lions roared back into the game with a slew of 3-pointers. Amy Oldach hit a trey to cut the deficit to 49-43 with 12:06 left and then Brianna Bayly connected on a 3-pointer at the 8:30 mark that made the score 56-51. Oldach and Bayly collected 12 points each in the loss.

The Yellow Jackets responded and put the game out of reach by ended the contest on a 17-8 rally. With a 5-point cushion, Waynesburg’s Elisha Jones scored the next seven points for the Yellow Jackets. Jones totaled 16 points in the second half, and finished with a game-high 23 points.

Despite allowing 59 points, the Waynesburg’s defense was stout at times and harassed the Penn State-Behrend’s offense. For the game, the Yellow Jackets recorded 16 steals and nine blocks, while forcing 28 turnovers by the visitors.

“Defense is the one thing that you can control,” Jones said. “Offensively, some nights you are not going to have it. We know that defense can keep you in games when you are struggling on offense. We also know that the harder you play on defense, the easier the offense is because you are getting those fast-break lay-ups. It’s cliche, but it works.”