WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) notched her seventh double-double of the season and Adalynn Cherry(Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) filled the stat sheet to lead the Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team to a 72-57 win over the University of Olivet Saturday afternoon at the Smokey Ballenger Classic. The annual two-day event was hosted by Otterbein University. 
 
Four players scored in double figures for the Presidents, who improve to 10-2 this season. The Comets, who compete in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, fall to 5-8 overall. 
 
Dryburgh recorded 12 points, a team-high 14 rebounds and a team-high five steals in the victory. Cherry flirted with a triple double, as the junior point guard scored a team-high 13 points to go along with nine rebounds and eight assists. Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) added 11 points and five assists while Hannah Archer (Lowell, Ohio/Fort Frye) scored 10 points. 
 
The Presidents jumped out to an early 8-3 lead behind a pair of three-pointers by Archer. Later in the first, Dryburgh converted a layup before adding a three-point field goal that stretched the lead to 13-5 at the 3:29 mark. Back-to-back steals by Kiyanna Dowling (York, Pa./York Suburban) led to some free throw opportunities for the Presidents. Cherry converted all four free throw attempts to push the lead to 19-10 with just under a minute left in the quarter. After a brief spurt by Olivet, the Presidents settled for a 22-17 lead after 10 minutes of play. 
 
The two teams played through a back and forth second quarter. A three-pointer from the top of the arc from Cherry extended the lead to 29-19 at the 8:34 mark. Olivet held W&J scoreless for nearly four minutes and eventually cut the deficit to 31-28 with nine-straight points. Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa./North Catholic) ended the scoring drought with a layup that made it 33-28 with 4:10 to play in the half. The teams traded scores for the remainder of the half as W&J took a 38-31 advantage into halftime.
 
The Presidents opened the third quarter with nine-straight points. Archer drained a three-pointer on W&J's first possession of the second half. Bezjak and Berardelli then accounted for the next six points to swell the W&J lead to 47-31 at the 7:52 mark. 
 
The Comets spent the remainder of the quarter chipping into that deficit. Olivet ripped off 11-straight points to trim the W&J lead back into single digits. The Comets cut the deficit to as few as five points with 1:54 showing on the third quarter clock. However, Dryburgh drained a step back three-pointer and Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) converted a late layup to give the Presidents a 60-52 lead entering the fourth. 
 
W&J was able to pull away over the final 10 minutes as Olivet scored just five points in the fourth. Loutsion converted a fast break layup before adding a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 68-55 with 3:15 to play. Katie Kovalchick (Shelocta, Pa./Indiana Area) and Cherry wrapped up the scoring for W&J in the 15-point win. 

Loutsion and Kovalchick provided valuable contributions off the bench. Loutsion finished with nine points while Kovalchick tallied eight points. 
 
The Presidents put together a 42-35 advantage in rebounding and forced the Comets to commit 20 turnovers. 
 
W&J jumps back into Presidents' Athletic Conference play with a pair of home games next week. The Presidents welcome Grove City (6-6 overall, 5-2 PAC) to the Salvitti Family Gymnasium on Wednesday, Jan. 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.


NOTES: Following the game, Dryburgh was named to the Smokey Ballenger Classic All-Tournament Team. The game was the first all-time meeting between the Presidents and the Comets.