Throughout the early season, the W&J women’s basketball team has kept pace with President’s Athletic Conference favorite and the No. 1 ranked team in the conference Thomas More.
The Presidents matched the Saints 4-0 conference record with a 77-64 road win at Waynesburg. Jina DeRubbo’s team was dominant early on, going on a 27-2 first-quarter run to put the game away early.
“We executed really well,” said DeRubbo. ‘We passed the ball very well and we didn’t miss many shots.”
Beka Bellhy, who leads the PAC in scoring at 18.6 points per game, had had a team-high 37 points and 14 rebounds on the week, which also included a win over Marietta for the 9-2 Presidents. Bellhy is currently eighth on W&J’s all-time scoring list and also is the PAC’s second leading rebounder on the season, pulling down 8.3 per game.
The Presidents play host to Geneva on Wednesday before heading to Thomas More for a big showdown on Saturday.
In other PAC news:
– Thomas More’s Nikki Kiernan was named PAC Player of the Week. She averaged a double-double with 21.0 points and 10.5 rebounds while averaging just 20 minutes per game as the Saints improved to 10-0 on the season by defeating Illinois Wesleyan and Thiel.
– Speaking of Thomas More, the Saints are ranked No. 1 in both national polls. For the week, the Saints shot 54.1 percent from the field as they were 73-of-135 from the floor. Senior guard Sydney Moss, the daughter of NFL great Randy Moss, led the team in scoring as she averaged 22.0 points per game.
– Saint Vincent (7-4, 2-2 PAC) is playing very well, having won four consecutive games. The Bearcats allowed just 56.7 points per game over the four-game streak and Hannah Carroll was named to the All-Tournament team at the D3Hoops.com Classic.
– On the men’s side, Bethany’s (7-4, 3-1) Antonio Rudolph was named PAC Player of the Week. The New Castle native averaged 12.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game last week for the Bison. He set career highs in points (26) and rebounds (15) in an 86-72 win over Bryn Athyn, going 11-of-14 from the field while adding five assists and three steals.
– The Geneva (0-11, 0-4) men are still looking for their first win of the season, but Chaese Vaudrin is having a solid season, leading the PAC in scoring at 20.7 points per game.
– Saint Vincent (8-3, 4-0) sits atop the PAC standings and is coming off a 2-1 performance on their Las Vegas trip. Pat Jones was named to the All-Tournament team at the D3Hoops.com Classic.
– The W&J (0-11, 0-4) men are still looking for their first win of the season after an 0-3 week which included a loss to Waynesburg on Saturday. Brian Graytok averaged 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds during the week, while Gianni Buarne contributed 15.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
-Waynesburg (2-9, 2-2) got a much needed win over the Presidents as the Yellow Jackets outscored the Presidents 17-6 over the final 2:41 in a 70-58 victory. Senior D.J. Ritchie is third in the conference in scoring, averaging 15.9 points per contest.
Photo Credit: Washington and Jefferson College
