GREENVILLE, Pa. (Jan. 3) – Sophomore guard Lauren Gilbert (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Baldwin) poured in a career-high 32 points to lead the Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team to a 73-50 road win over Thiel College in Presidents' Athletic Conference play. 
 
The win is the sixth straight overall for W&J, who improves to 4-1 in league play and 8-5 overall. The loss drops Thiel to 0-4 in PAC contests and 2-10 overall.  
 
The 32-point effort by Gilbert is the most by a President since former W&J standout Taylor Cortazzo scored 35 points in a win at Bethany on Feb. 11, 2017. Gilbert converted 12-of-19 field goal attempts and 6-of-9 three-point attempts. Her 32-point output was just the fourth 30+ point performance in the PAC this season. 
 
A strong first quarter, which included four made threes by Gilbert, helped W&J out to a 24-12 advantage after 10 minutes of play. A minor run by Thiel helped cut the deficit back into single digits (29-21) with 6:27 to play in the second quarter. 
 
However, an 8-0 spurt by the Presidents moved the lead to 37-21 at the 5:05 mark. W&J carried a 41-29 edge into the halftime break. 
 
W&J opened the third with a pair of free throws by sophomore Alie Seto (Allison, Pa./Brownsville) and a layup by Gilbert to swell the W&J advantage to 45-29. Late in the third, Gilbert knocked down her sixth three-pointer of the night, giving her a new career-high with 30 points. 
 
Holding a 60-46 lead entering the fourth quarter, the defense locked down for W&J over the final quarter as the Presidents outscored the Tomcats by a 13-4 margin over the final 10 minutes. A late three-pointer by freshman guard Carlee Stetler (Wampum, Pa./Mohawk) closed the scoring and gave W&J its largest lead of the night at 23 points.   
 
Senior forward Danielle Parker (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan) tallied her fifth double-double of the season and 19th of her career with 12 points and 10 rebounds against the Tomcats. 
 
Seto just missed a double-double, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds. Freshman guard Kylie McKennen (Triadelphia, W.Va./Wheeling Park) added five assists and three steals in the win. 
 
W&J returns to action with a home game against local rival Waynesburg University on Saturday, Jan. 5. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. in the Henry Memorial Center.