WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Sophomore guard Aleena McDaniel (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) turned in the best performance of her collegiate career to lead the Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team to an 82-72 win over Geneva in Presidents' Athletic Conference play Saturday at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.
McDaniel registered her first career double-double, as she poured in a career-high 29 points, along with career highs in rebounds (11) and steals (5).
Junior guard Lauren Gilbert (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) turned in another strong offensive effort, as she finished with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. Juniors Maria Lawhorne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) and Hannah Johnston (East Freedom, Pa./Central) tallied 10 points apiece to give W&J four players in double figures. Johnston also added a career-high five assists.
The Presidents opened up an early 10-2 lead when McDaniel completed an old fashioned three-point play at the 7:39 mark of the first quarter. A three-point basket by Gilbert stretched the W&J advantage into double figures (20-10) with 3:58 left in the opening quarter. A trey by sophomore Catherine Martin (Blairsville, Pa./Blairsville) extended the lead to 26-11 at the 2:15 mark. The GT's responded with the final 10 points of the first to cut the W&J lead to 26-21 after 10 minutes of play.
McDaniel opened the second quarter scoring with another three-point play to push the W&J edge to 29-21 at the 9:11 mark. Foul trouble hindered the Presidents ability to maintain the lead, as four players picked up a pair of fouls before halftime. That allowed the visiting GT's to put together a 12-3 run over the next seven-plus minutes. A successful layup gave Geneva a 33-32 advantage with 1:57 left in the second.
Johnston responded by knocking down a triple to put the Presidents back in front. However, a pair of free throws with less than a minute left in the second quarter allowed the GT's to even the score at 35-35 at halftime.
After a layup gave Geneva a 44-42 lead at the 6:42 mark of the third, W&J quickly countered with seven straight points to take a 49-44 edge. McDaniel capped the run with a fastbreak layup with 3:06 left in the period. McDaniel then tacked on a layup and then a trey to strengthen the Presidents lead to 54-47 late in the third. A late triple by Gilbert helped W&J carry a 59-52 lead into the fourth.
A three-pointer by freshman Victoria Koeck (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills) pushed the lead back into double figures on the first possession of the fourth. Geneva continued to battle, as the visitors cut the deficit to 68-63 with a triple at the 5:58 mark. McDaniel and Gilbert proved too much for the Golden Tornadoes, as the duo combined for 10 more points down the stretch to put the game way.
W&J held advantages in second chance points (19-12) and rebounds (51-44). Both teams were 10-of-30 from behind the three-point line. W&J pulled down 21 offensive rebounds and tallied 20 assists on 27 made field goals.
Lauren Tipton finished with 20 points and nine rebounds to pace Geneva in the setback.
The win improves the Presidents to 6-3 overall and 1-1 conference play. The loss drops Geneva to 1-7 overall and 0-2 in PAC contests.
W&J hosts Chatham University for a PAC contest on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Start time is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Salvitti Gymnasium.