WASHINGTON, Pa. -- A balanced offensive attack coupled with a lockdown defensive performance guided the Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team to a 65-55 victory over the Chatham Cougars Wednesday night in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Quarterfinals at the Salvitti Family Gymnasium.
 
The win improves the Red and Black to 17-9 overall and advances the Presidents into the PAC Tournament Semifinals for an eighth consecutive season. W&J will meet top-seeded Saint Vincent on Friday night. The contest is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Carey Center in Latrobe, Pa.
 
Alie Seto (Allison, Pa./Brownsville) was a force to be reckoned with from the opening tip Wednesday night. The junior forward recorded her eighth double-double of the season. Seto finished with 19 points, 18 rebounds, four steals, four assists and two blocks. This marks the 24th time in 26 games that Seto has scored in double figures this season.
 
Hannah Johnston (East Freedom, Pa./Central) scored all 16 of her points in the second half to help keep the Cougars at bay. Aleena McDaniel (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) finished with 11 points to give the Presidents a trio of double figures scorers. W&J outscored Chatham by a decisive 46-20 margin in the point, including a 16-8 edge in the final quarter.

Both teams were slow to start offensively, as Chatham held a 3-2 edge at the 6:45 mark of the first quarter. A three-pointer by Seto gave the Presidents their first lead at 5-3.
 
Following a jumper by the Cougars, Seto tacked on the eight consecutive points to give the Presidents a 13-5 advantage with 2:54 left in the opening quarter. The Cougars closed the quarter with six of the next eight points to cut the Presidents lead to 15-11 after 10 minutes of play.
 
The Cougars continued that momentum early in the second quarter, as the visitors took an 18-17 edge on a jumper by Emily Ondo with 6:10 left until halftime. Two free throws by Seto and a layup by McDaniel gave the Presidents a 21-18 lead with 4:30 to play in the half.
 
W&J pushed the lead to nine points, it's largest of the first half, on a jumper by Seto at the 1:44 mark. The Presidents carried a 32-24 lead into the halftime break behind 15 points and 8 rebounds from Seto.
 
Chatham opened the third quarter with seven consecutive points to cut the W&J lead to 32-31. The Presidents quickly countered with a 12-2 run to stretch the lead into double figures. A jumper by Johnston made the score 43-33 with 3:34 to play in the third.
 
The Presidents carried that double-digit advantage into the fourth. Consecutive baskets by McDaniel and Seto swelled the W&J lead to 14 points (49-35), which was the largest of the game for the Presidents. The Cougars cut the deficit to eight points (59-51) on a three by Kaitlyn Fertig with 2:25 left but could get no closer.
 
Fertig finished with a game-best 24 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field. The Presidents defense played a crucial role in the victory, as they held the Cougars to 7-of-23 from behind the three-point line. Chatham had entered the game as the PAC's top three-point shooting team and they ranked in the Top 15 nationally in three-point field goals made.

Megan Williams (Bay Village, Ohio/Lake Ridge Academy) dished out a game-high five assists, which matched a career best. Maria Lawhorne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) finished with nine points while Piper Morningstar (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) filled the stat sheet with six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Victoria Koeck (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills) tallied three blocks off of the bench.
 
W&J advances to match up with Saint Vincent. Friday's matchup will mark the seventh meeting in the past eight PAC Tournaments between the two teams. This will be the sixth meeting between the squads in the semifinal round. The two teams have split the previous six tournament matchups.
 
No. 2 Grove City College will take on No. 3 Westminster College in the first semifinal contest at 5:30 p.m. The Titans registered a 76-60 victory over No. 6 Waynesburg Wednesday night.
 
The conference will announce its All-PAC Teams and yearly award winners between the semifinals games on Friday night.