Women’s basketball to work on turnover issues in weekend tourney
Coming off a season-opening loss to non-conference opponent Penn State Behrend, the Waynesburg University women’s basketball team will participate in the Purple Raider Shootout this weekend when it journeys to Alliance, Ohio.
The Yellow Jackets will face Case Western Reserve Friday, Nov. 20, which serves as the first of two games as the second one will feature Mount Union against Elmira.
Waynesburg senior forward Heather Davis led the team in points and rebounds in Tuesday’s loss. Davis finished with a double-double by scoring 15 points and grabbing 16 boards. It was the first double-double of Davis’ collegiate career.
The storyline, however, from the game was the turnover battle. There were 58 total turnovers, 30 of which were committed by Waynesburg. The offensive mistakes led to the Jackets fourth straight season-opening loss.
Waynesburg has rebounded nicely in recent years after losing opening night by winning two out of the previous three times following a 0-1 start. Last year the Yellow Jackets lost by 13 points to Carnegie Mellon, they came out the next game and won by a final score of 72-62 over University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.
Waynesburg will need to keep better control of the turnover margin, but also the glass as the Lions won the rebound margin 49-39.
Friday’s opponent, Case Western, is a new one for Waynesburg as it is the first ever matchup between the two programs. Case Western is 0-2 coming into the matchup, losing to Baldwin Wallace and Denison.
Case Western finished last season 9-16 overall with 3-11 record in conference play. Sophomore forward Kara Hageman leads the Spartans on offense, averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Behind Hageman, the Spartans have junior guard Jessica McCoy, who is second on the team in scoring with 12 points per game. In all, Case Western only possesses three scores in double-digits. The Spartans have a problem with turning over the ball, as they average almost 20 turnovers a game.
Case is also giving up around 68 points a game while only scoring 60. This is helpful for the Jackets who scored an average of 71 points last season.
The winner of the Waynesburg versus Case Western game will play against the victor between the hosts, Mount Union, and Elmira on Saturday.
Friday’s game will tip-off at 5 p.m.