WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson women's basketball secured a spot in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Semifinals after a dominating victory over Waynesburg Tuesday evening in Salvitti Family Gymnasium, 77-45. 

The win was the ninth straight for the Presidents, who improve to 21-4 overall. The loss ends Waynesburg's season at 6-20. The matchup was the first between the two programs in the PAC Tournament since they met in the semifinal round in the 2015-16 season. The victory moves W&J into the PAC Tournament semifinals for a 10th straight season. 

W&J never trailed in the contest and used a balanced attack to earn its 10th straight win versus Waynesburg. The Presidents put a trio of players into double figures. Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) and Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge,Pa./North Catholic) led the way with 12 points apiece. Berardelli added a team-high seven rebounds to go along with three assists and three blocks. Piper Morningstar (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) finished with 11 points, three assists and three blocks. 

Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) opened the scoring with a layup on the first possession of the game. Back-to-back baskets by Piper Morningstar (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) gave W&J a 14-4 lead at the 4:20 mark of the opening quarter. However, the Yellow Jackets closed the frame with nine of the next 11 points to trim the deficit to 16-13 after 10 minutes. 

The Presidents outscored the Jackets by a 24-10 margin in the second quarter as they took control of the game for good. Consecutive triples by Bezjak and Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) swelled the lead to 34-18 with 3:30 to play before halftime. The lead reached as many as 18 in the first half, as Bezjak converted a pair of free throws late in the first half. W&J took a 40-23 advantage into the break. 

The Red and Black converted 12-of-19 field goal attempts in the third and outscored Waynesburg by a 29-8 margin. Taylor Brenner (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) tallied five of W&J's eight four quarter points as they closed out the victory. 

Brooke Fuller led Waynesburg with 18 points and 14 rebounds in her final collegiate game. 

W&J held advantages in points in the paint (42-26) and bench points (38-5) in the win.

W&J shot 45.6 percent (31-68) from the floor, which included six made triples on 15 attempts. Meanwhile, Waynesburg converted just 25.4 percent of its field goal attempts on the night. The Yellow Jackets made just two-of-21 three-point attempts. 

W&J hosts fifth-seeded Bethany College in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 24. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.

General admission will be charged at $5 at the gate before entry. Non-W&J students will be charged $2 while W&J students are admitted free with their college ID.