WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team was clicking on all cylinders offensively in a decisive 87-53 win over rival Saint Vincent College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game at Salvitti Family Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

Coming off its first conference loss of the season Wednesday, W&J turned in its best offensive effort of the season. The Presidents converted a season-best 56.4 percent of its field goals, matched its season-high with 11 made three-pointers, tallied a season-high 27 assists and finished with a season-high 87 points against the Bearcats.

Freshman guard/forward Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) was a catalyst for the offense throughout the first half. Dryburgh knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to open the scoring.

Senior guard Kamryn Lach (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) then drained a three of her own and junior forward Victoria Koeck (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills) followed with an offensive rebound and putback to give W&J an 11-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

Meanwhile, the visiting Bearcats committed turnovers on three of its first four possessions as Saint Vincent jumped on them with full court pressure. Dryburgh tacked on a pair of free throws to make it 13 unanswered points to start the game. Saint Vincent was able to crack the scoreboard with an Alana Winkler layup at the 6:29 mark.

The Red and Black continued its early onslaught, as they added six more points, using a pair of layups by senior guard Piper Morningstar (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) to extend its lead to 19-2 at the 4:48 mark. The Presidents led by at least 15 points for the remainder of the quarter, as they took a 27-10 lead after the opening stanza. 

The lead swelled to 21 points (36-15) when Dryburgh drained a three-pointer at the 5:10 mark of the second quarter. W&J extended its first half lead to as many as 25 points before taking a 42-20 lead into halftime.

A three-pointer by Lach stretched the lead to 48-22 less than three minutes into the third quarter. Senior guard Aleena McDaniel (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) connected on a pair of field goals late in the third quarter to give W&J a 68-39 edge after 30 minutes.

Freshman guard Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) and junior forward Maddi Gutierrez (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) added to W&J's three-point barrage with consecutive triples in the fourth. The latter of which gave W&J a 78-44 lead with 5:50 to play.

Freshman guard Sydney Snyder (Loudonville, Ohio/Loudonville) got into the scoring act in the fourth. Snyder drained a three-point field goal with 2:34 to play to give W&J its biggest lead at 87-48. Snyder finished with seven points and three rebounds in the fourth.

Eleven different Presidents scored in the contest. Morningstar finished with a game-high 18 points on a 7-for-11 shooting performance. Dryburgh posted her fifth double-double of the season, as the first-year finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Dryburgh was efficient, as she made 4-of-6 field goal attempts including all three shots from behind the three-point line.

McDaniel reached double figures for a second consecutive game, as she turned in a 13-point performance in a 6-for-7 effort from the field. Lach finished with a season-high eight assists while committing no turnovers.
W&J held a 40-27 advantage in rebounding and forced 21 Saint Vincent turnovers.

The Presidents improve to 13-4 overall and 10-1 in PAC play. Saint Vincent falls to 3-11 overall and 2-8 in conference games.

W&J hosts Geneva College for a conference contest on Monday, Jan. 31. This will mark the first meeting in 2021-22 between the teams. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.