WASHINGTON, Pa. – Sophomore guard/forward Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) and junior center Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa./North Catholic) combined to account for 29 points and 30 rebounds as the Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team edged Bethany by a 54-51 margin Wednesday evening in West Virginia.

The win stretches the Presidents' winning streak to 13 games. W&J is 14-1 overall and 10-0 in Presidents' Athletic Conference play. The loss drops Bethany to 4-7 in the league and 4-12 overall.

Dryburgh posted her ninth double-double of the season. The three-time PAC Player of the Week finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Dryburgh has recorded a double-double in six of the past seven games.

Berardelli registered 11 points and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds. The double-double effort is the second of the season for Berardelli.

W&J built a 10-4 lead midway through the first quarter when Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) drained a pair of free throws at the 4:55 mark. Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) converted on a pair of field goal opportunities late in the first quarter as W&J carried a 14-11 advantage into the second.

Bethany trimmed its deficit to a single point (18-17) when Ashleigh Wheeler made a three-point field goal at the 7:18 mark of the second. Loutsion and Berardelli had the answer for the Presidents as baskets on back-to-back possessions strengthened W&J's lead to 22-17 just three minutes later.

Loutsion and Berardelli each converted layups late in the half to give W&J a 26-20 advantage at halftime.

The Bison continued to threaten the Presidents throughout the second half. A layup by Makenzee Mason at the 5:32 mark evened the score at 29-29. However, the Presidents countered with a strong 11-5 run to close the frame. Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) knocked down a triple to break the tie. Beardelli and Dryburgh then combined to account for the final eight points of the quarter for the Presidents, who entered the fourth with a 40-34 lead.

A layup by Dryburgh on W&J's first possession of the fourth quarter gave the Presidents their largest lead of the night up to that point at eight (42-34).

However, the Bison countered with a 9-2 run over the next five-plus minutes to cut the W&J lead to 44-43 with 5:35 remaining.
 
Kiyanna Dowling (York, Pa./York Suburban) sank perhaps the biggest shot of the night. Dowling ended the Bison run with a three-pointer that gave W&J some breathing room and helped start an 8-0 run. Dryburgh capped the spurt with a layup to make it 52-43 with 2:11 to play.

The Presidents led by eight points with 20 seconds to play before the Bison scored the final five points.

W&J was able to win despite shooting just 16.7 percent from three-point range (2-12) and just 46.2 percent from the free throw line (6-13). Eight of Bethany's 17 made field goals were from behind the three-point line. W&J held a 39-33 edge in rebounding.

Bethany put three players in double figures. Mason paced the Bison with 17 points.

W&J travels to Grove City for a conference showdown on Saturday, Jan. 14. The Wolverines enter the game in second place at 8-1 in league play. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the College Arena in Mercer County.