WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team dropped a season-high in points in a commanding 87-64 victory over Geneva Wednesday evening in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.

The win improves W&J to 22-2 overall and 18-1 in conference play. The win helped the Presidents secure the top seed in next week's PAC Tournament. Geneva falls to 6-18 overall and 6-13 in conference.

Opening the first quarter of play, both teams looked sluggish and slow as both sides of the court were littered with simple mistakes and ill-advised shots. The Presidents would find their rhythm by the five minute mark as they erased an early 4-0 deficit by countering with an 11-2 run started by W&J's fast paced offense. The Presidents played to the Golden Tornadoes weakness by creating tempo and a flow of the game which allowed W&J to finish the first quarter with a 11-point lead (25-14).

In the second quarter, Geneva started to find their stride as they finally started to get their full-court press to work again as they created a multitude of turnovers in the backcourt allowing them to creep back into the game.by the buzzer sounded, the Golden Tornadoes chipped the Presidents lead down to five (42-37) as they approached striking distance.

Rejuvenated from the break at half, the Presidents didn't skip a beat as they came out of the locker room all in sync as they built up their lead quickly to 20 points. This quarter the Presidents were led by Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa. / Albert Gallatin) and Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Baldwin) as they both attacked the paint and were pivotal on defense, creating plenty of havoc for the Golden Tornadoes. Adding to this offensive onslaught in the third quarter was the gritty performance from Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa. / North Catholic) as she fought through plenty of contact and traffic all night in the paint. The Presidents outscored the Golden Tornadoes 28-7 as they put away the game prior to the start of the fourth.

Following the high scoring third quarter, the Presidents sealed the victory by maintaining their 20-plus point lead as they fought their way to their 22nd win of the season.

Dryburgh posted her 14th double-double of the season, as she finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds, six steals, and four assists. Berardelli tallied another double-double to her season totals, as she posted a stat line of 14 points, 11 rebounds, and six steals.

Bezjak led the Presidents with 21 points as she continues to impress on the offensive side of the ball. Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan) turned in a 16-point performance off the bench. 

W&J dominated the boards and the paint tonight as they held a 62-36 advantage in rebounding and a 60-32 advantage in points in the paint. 

W&J returns to action Saturday, Feb. 18 for their last regular season meeting of the 2022-23 season on the Presidents senior day against the Grove City Wolverines. Tip-off is schedule for 1 p.m.