WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team used a complete team effort to record a dominant 61-42 win over the visiting Bethany Bison in the Presidents' Athletic Conference opener for both teams in Wednesday evening at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.

The win moves W&J to 3-1 overall (1-0 PAC) while Bethany falls to 0-2 (0-1 PAC). 

After splitting a pair of games over the weekend at the Springhill Suites Women's Basketball Tip-off Tournament, the defending conference champion Presidents looked to start conference play off on the right foot. 

The Presidents did just that by scoring back-to-back baskets to start off the evening bout. Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Baldwin) started things off with a mid-range jumper followed by another pull-up jumper from Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin). Following the Presidents hot start, the Bison would finally find an answer back with three free throws and an open three from Makenzee Mason. The Presidents would wrap up the first quarter with a 5-2 run as freshman guard Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan) would get into the scoring column by finishing a fastbreak layup.

Bethany opened the second quarter with a three-point play to trim the deficit to 13-10. However, W&J used a seven-point spurt to extend the lead into double digits on a three-point play by Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) at the 6:45 mark. Late in the first half, the Presidents used a three-point field goal by Victoria Koeck (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills) and a layup by Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa./North Catholic) to take a 29-18 advantage into the halftime break. 

The second half was more of the same for both units as the Presidents would continue to pile onto their lead while holding the Bison to 27% from the field and 10% from three after an impressive day on the defensive side of the court. W&J effectively put the game out of reach early in the third quarter. The Presidents ripped off an 8-0 run over the first three-plus minutes of the frame to stretch the lead to 37-18. Kiyanna Dowling (York, Pa./York Suburban) gave W&J its largest lead of the game when she sank a corner three-point field goal to make the score 47-22. W&J finished off a 19-point win over the final 10 minutes of play. 

Dryburgh posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Berardelli and Bezjak also scored in double figures with 12 points and 11 points, respectively. Koeck filled the stat sheet with five points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks. Koeck was a large part of W&J's defensive efforts, which limited the Bison to 2-of-19 shooting from behind the three-point line. Bethany also committed 20 turnovers in the loss. 

W&J controlled the paint tonight as they held the differential in points in the paint (42-28) and 48-36 margin in rebounding. Bethany held the advantage in points off of turnovers (20-15).

The Presidents will remain in Presidents' Athletic Conference play this Saturday, November 19 as they travel to Greenville to take on the Thiel Tomcats. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 P.M.