WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The top-seeded Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team built a 20-point halftime lead before earning a 55-47 victory over fifth-seeded Bethany College in the 2021-22 Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals at Salvitti Family Gymnasium on Thursday evening. 

W&J moves to 22-4 overall with its 10th straight victory. Bethany drops to 15-11 overall. The teams matched up in the PAC Tournament for a second consecutive season, as the Presidents defeated the Bison by a 66-62 score in last year's quarterfinal round. 

Piper Morningstar (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) led the Presidents with a team-high 13 points.  Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa./North Catholic) posted 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Kamryn Lach (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) added eight points. 

Morningstar and Berardelli opened with the scoring with back-to-back field goals. A little later, a Berardelli layup gave the Presidents their largest lead of the first quarter at 14-7. W&J carried an 18-13 lead into the second quarter. 

The Presidents stymied the Bison in the second quarter to gain a 20-point halftime edge. W&J outscored Bethany by a 17-2 margin in the second as Bethany missed all 15 field goal attempts in the quarter. The Bison's lone points of the quarter came off a pair of free throws by Makenzee Mason at the 2:59 mark. Berardelli and Koeck converted back-to-back baskets just before the halftime buzzer to give W&J a 35-15 lead. 

The Bison did not go quietly, as the visitors chipped away at the Presidents' lead throughout the second half. A three-point field goal by Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) late in the quarter helped W&J carry a 46-34 lead into the fourth. 

 hot in the third quarter and out-scored the Presidents in a 19-11 margin, but Bethany dug themselves a hole they could not recover from in the first half. A Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) three pointer would send the Presidents into the final quarter up by a score 46-34. Following a layup by Morningstar that gave W&J a 48-37 lead with 6:48 to play, the Bison tallied eight unanswered points to make it a one possession game.

Aleena McDaniel (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) had the answer, as the senior converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give W&J a 51-45 lead with 1:21 to play. Morningstar helped W&J close the game out at the free throw line. The senior converted the final four attempts from the charity stripe in the final minute. 

W&J hosts second-seeded Westminster College in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday, Feb. 26. The Titans downed third-seeded Grove City by a 75-62 score Thursday evening. Tip-off for Saturday's title game is slated for 4:30 p.m. This is the first matchup in the championship game between W&J and Westminster since the 2004-05 season. 

The Presidents have won five PAC titles, with its most recent coming in 2005-06. W&J advances to the PAC title game for a fifth straight season. 

Both teams finished with 36 total rebounds. W&J limited Bethany to 28.3 percent from the field, which included a 2-of-17 effort from behind the three-point line. 

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.