GROVE CITY, Pa. (Jan. 16) – Senior forward Danielle Parker (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) recorded a career-high 27 points to help Washington & Jefferson College to a 76-60 road win over Grove City in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game at the College Arena.
Parker connected on 12-of-14 field goal attempts, including 3-of-3 from behind the three-point line. The senior added eight rebounds, six steals, two assists and two blocks to help W&J to its ninth straight win.
Like they have throughout their current winning streak, the Presidents started strong to build an early advantage. Wednesday night's game was no exception as W&J tallied the first 10 points of the contest.
Sophomore guard Lauren Gilbert (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) opened the scoring with the first basket before sophomore guard Hannah Johnston (East Freedom, Pa./Central) added a jumper in front of back-to-back baskets by Parker.
After a timeout by Grove City, sophomore forward Alie Seto (Allison, Pa./Brownsville) forced a steal and converted a layup on the other end to extend the W&J lead to 10-0 at the 5:55 mark of the first.
The Wolverines first made field goal didn't come until the 2:59 mark when they connected on a jump shot to cut the W&J edge to 11-4. The Presidents limited the Wolverines to just two made field goals over the opening 10 minutes to build a 15-9 lead after the first.
Like they did in the first quarter, W&J started the second quarter strong as well, tallying the first nine points to strengthen the advantage to 24-9. A three each by Gilbert and freshman guard Carlee Stelter (Wampum, Pa./Mohawk) sparked the run.
Throughout the rest of the quarter, W&J continued to build upon its lead, pushing the lead to as many as 19 points, when a pair of free throws by sophomore forward Maria Lawhorne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) made it 34-15 at the 2:39 mark. The Presidents carried a 37-21 edge into the halftime break.
Grove City made its attempt at a comeback, using a three-pointer late to pull back within 10 (54-44) in the waning moments of the third quarter. An early run in the fourth ultimately put the game away for the Presidents, as an extended run doubled their advantage. Parker tallied seven points during the run as W&J made it 70-50 with 4:33 to play.
As a team, W&J converted on a season-high 55.8 percent of its field goal attempts, sinking 29 of 52 shots. The Presidents made six-of-10 three-point attempts. Defensively, W&J limited GCC to 33.9 percent from the field and held a 36-28 rebounding edge.
Lawhorne added 14 points and six rebounds while freshman guard Kylie McKennen (Triadelphia, W.Va./Wheeling Park) dished out a career-best seven assists.
The win moves W&J to 7-1 in conference play and 11-5 overall. Meanwhile, Grove City drops to 5-3 in the league and 10-7 overall.
W&J travels to first place Saint Vincent for a conference showdown on Saturday, Jan. 19. Tip-off between the Presidents and Bearcats is scheduled for 4 p.m.