WASHINGTON, Pa. – Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) scored a career-high 25 points, included the game-tying basket to force overtime with less than a second remaining, to help lift the Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team to a 70-63 victory over visiting Saint Vincent Saturday afternoon in Presidents' Athletic Conference game at Salvitti Gymnasium.

The win improves W&J to 8-1 in conference play and 12-2 overall. Saint Vincent, the reigning PAC Tournament Champions, fell to 4-5 in league games after its fourth-straight loss in conference play. The Bearcats are now 6-8 overall.

Dryburgh finished with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. Dryburgh drained a pair of three-pointers and made seven-of-eight attempts at the free throw line. The junior guard added a team-high 10 rebounds, five steals and a pair of blocks.

Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) backed Dryburgh's strong effort with a season-high 23 points on nine-of-16 shooting. Bezjak made a pair of triples on four attempts. Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) continued her strong play off the bench. Loutsion finished with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

The game was a back-and-forth battle between two of the top programs in the PAC over the past decade. After Dryburgh pushed the game into overtime with her last second driving layup, W&J outscored Saint Vincent by a 10-3 margin in the overtime session.

A free throw split by Katie Kovalchick (Shelocta, Pa./Indiana) put W&J in front to open the overtime session. After a jumper by Emily Cavacini gave Saint Vincent its only lead of the extra session, the Red and Black responded with six-straight points to take control. Consecutive field goals by Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area), Kovalchick and Bezjak made it 67-62 with 2:37 left. Neither team made a field goal over the final two-plus minutes of the game. W&J was able to salt the game away with a few free throw makes to finish off the hard-fought victory.

Saint Vincent jumped out to an early 7-3 lead. After a three-pointer by Bezjak opened the game, the Bearcats ripped off seven-straight points to take the advantage. Later in the first quarter, W&J regained the lead with back-to-back field goals by Dryburgh and Bezjak. A three-point by Cavacini just before the buzzer allowed the Bearcats to carry a 15-13 lead into the second quarter.

After W&J tied it on the opening trip of the second quarter, but the Bearcats countered with an 11-4 run over the next five minutes to open up their largest lead of the half. SVC had a 26-19 advantage with 4:30 left in the quarter. W&J ripped off seven-straight points, which included a three-pointer by Cherry, which evened the score at 26 at the 2:25 mark. The teams traded points from there to head into halftime. A driving layup by Bezjak drew the Presidents into a 30-30 tie at the break.

The teams produced their best offensive showings in the third quarter. A bucket by the Bearcats with 3:52 left in the quarter made it 42-39 in favor of the visitors. However, the Presidents used an extended 11-2 run to take a 50-44 advantage late in the third. The duo of Dryburgh and Bezjak accounted for all 11 points during the spurt.
 
W&J took a 50-46 lead into the fourth. However, Saint Vincent recorded the first eight points of the fourth quarter as the Presidents went cold offensively. Bezjak helped W&J score its first points of the fourth with a jumper to trim the deficit to 54-52 at the 5:41 mark. After a basket by Saint Vincent, Loutsion connected on a three-pointer to bring the deficit to 56-55 with 3:27 to play in regulation. The Bearcats appeared poised to pull out the victory, as consecutive scores by Cavacani swelled their lead to five (60-55) with 2:22 showing on the clock. Dryburgh scored the final five points, as she knocked down a triple with 36 seconds to play. W&J shut the door defensively with a shot clock violation, which set the stage for Dryburgh's last second field goal to force overtime.

Saint Vincent made 44 percent from the field but struggled from distance (4-16) and at the free throw line (3-10). W&J converted 39.7 percent from the field. The Presidents made 6-of-19 attempts from three-point range and 14-of-19 at the line (73.7 percent).

The Bearcats edged W&J in rebounding (41-38). Cavacini put together a strong all-around effort, as she matched Dryburgh with 25 points of her own. The senior guard made 11-of-23 field goal attempts.
 
W&J travels to Westminster for a conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 10. Start time is scheduled for 6 p.m. in New Wilmington.