LATROBE, Pa. – Sophomore forward Maria Lawhorne(Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) tallied 18 of her 21 points in the second half as the Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team earned a hard fought 54-43 victory over Grove City College in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals Friday night. 
 
The win advances the Presidents to the PAC Tournament Championship game tomorrow against the winner of tonight's second semifinal contest between top seeded Saint Vincent and eighth seeded Thiel. The championship game will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. inside the Carey Center. 
 
After a split at the free throw line by sophomore Hannah Johnston (East Freedom, Pa./Central) tied the game at 5-5, Grove City used back-to-back layups to take a 9-5 lead with 3:34 to play in the first. Three straight points by Lawhorne brought the Presidents back within one-point (9-8) with just 19 seconds left in the quarter. 
 
Grove City opened the second quarter with five straight points, including a three-pointer by Mackenzie Black, to extend the lead to 14-8. W&J quickly responded with back-to-back triples by senior Danielle Parker (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) and sophomore Alie Seto (Allison, Pa./Brownsville) to tie the score at 14-14 with 4:59 left in the half. 
 
The Wolverines then countered with eight of the next 10 points to take a 22-16 lead with 44 seconds to play in the half. Johnston drained a jumper in the paint with 28 seconds left in the half to close the Wolverines lead to 22-18 at the break. 
 
The two teams combined for 23 turnovers in the first half, with W&J committing 12 and Grove City tallying 11 miscues. 
 
A layup by Grove City extended the lead to five points (28-23) midway through the third quarter. However, it was at that point that W&J settled in and finally started to execute its offense. Five straight points by Lawhorne pulled the Presidents even at 28-28 at the 2:41 mark. 
 
After a baket by Grove City helped them regain the lead with 2:27 left in the third, Lawhorne countered with a layup and free throw to give W&J a 31-30 lead after three quarters of play. 
 
Early in the fourth, W&J continued to use Lawhorne to take control of the game, as the sophomore recorded six of the next eight points for the Presidents. That extended run pushed the W&J lead to 39-30 with 7:42 to play. 
 
After a three-pointer by Grove City cut the deficit to six, the Presidents tacked on eight straight points to hold a 47-33 with 2:14 to play and effectively put the game away. The closest Grove City would get would be seven points (50-43) with 32 seconds remaining. 
 
Lawhorne finished with a game-best 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 at the free throw line. Parker finished with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. 
 
Johnston registered a strong performance off of the bench, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Kylie McKennen (Triadelphia, W.Va./Wheeling Park) contributed six assists to aid the offense in the victory. 
 
The win improves W&J to 19-7 overall, while Grove City drops to 16-11 for the season. 
 
This marks the third time in the past four seasons that the Presidents have reached the PAC Championship game.