WASHINGTON, Pa. – Sophomore forward Maria Lawhorne posted her first collegiate double-double, totaling 20 points and adding a career-best 13 rebounds in a 73-64 loss to Thiel College in Presidents' Athletic Conference play at the Henry Memorial Center.

Things started well for the home team as the Presidents built an early 7-4 lead at the 746 mark on a three-pointer by freshman guard Carlee Stelter (Wampum, Pa./Mohawk).

Thiel would use nine straight points to surge into the lead at 16-9. Lawhorne and sophomore forward Alie Seto (Allison, Pa./Brownsville) combined for the next five points to cut the deficit to 16-14 with 1:30 to play in the first quarter. The Tomcats responded with an 8-0 run to close the quarter with a 24-14 lead.

Back-to-back baskets by Lawhorne brought the Presidents within four points (26-22) at the 6:43 mark. However, the Tomcats used more outside shooting to push their lead into double figures for the remainder of the half before taking a 44-29 edge into the break.

The Tomcats totaled nine three-pointers in the first half while the Presidents made just one triple. Lawhorne led the W&J at halftime with 12 points and six rebounds.

Thiel continued to keep W&J at a distance in the third quarter before a 9-0 spurt by the home team closed the deficit to 49-40 at the 3:31 mark. A successful layup by Lawhorne capped the run for W&J. However, the Tomcats quickly countered with back to back three-pointers and closed the quarter with a 10-2 run to make the score 59-42.

W&J continued to fight back but Thiel had the answer every time. The Presidents finally cut the deficit back to single digits (72-64) with a three from Seto with just 28 seconds left.

Three-point shooting played a critical role in the win for Thiel. The Tomcats matched a season-high with 13 made three-pointers, including nine in the first half. Meanwhile, the Presidents made just 2-of-17 three-point attempts and connected on just 8-of-16 free throw attempts.

Jess Vormelker guided the way for the visitors, tallying a game-high 26 points, including six made three-pointers in the win.

Joining Lawhorne in double figures for W&J was Seto with 13 points while sophomore guard Hannah Johnston (East Freedom, Pa./Central) added 10 points.

W&J held advantages in points in the paint (40-22), second chance points (12-3) and bench points (34-11). Thiel outscored W&J 23-15 in points off of turnovers and held a slight 37-36 rebounding advantage.

The loss drops W&J to 10-3 in PAC play and 14-7 overall. Meanwhile, Thiel improves to 3-8 in the conference and 5-15 overall.

The Presidents return to action at Waynesburg on Wednesday, Feb. 6. Start time is set for 5:30 p.m.