Fryer, Williamson lead Penn State Shenango women past Thiel, 76-64

Feb. 4—The Penn State Shenango women's basketball team posted a 76-64 non-conference win over Thiel College on Saturday at Beeghly Gymnasium in Greenville.

Shenango (13-8) led 26-14 at the end of the opening quarter and 42-25 at halftime. Thiel outscored the Lions 39-34 in the second half.

Aneziah Fryer fired in 25 points for Penn State Shenango, Shar'Da Williamson had 23 points and 17 rebounds, Jaysina Sellers (Sharon High) contributed nine points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and four blocks, and Karsyn Rupert (West Middlesex High) grabbed nine rebounds.

Destiny Johnson led the way for Thiel (3-17) with 22 points, 25 rebounds, six assists, and seven steals. Shayla Foster scored 17 points for the Tomcats and Lexy Wagner added 16 points.

It was Senior Day for Thiel. Seniors are Johnson, Grace Adams, Destiny Merriwether, and student assistant coach Autumn Wanchick.

Penn State Shenango hosts Penn State Greater Allegheny at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The men's teams also play at 8 p.m. at the Buhl Recreation Center.

Thiel is back in action at 6 p.m. Monday when it visits Washington & Jefferson.

WESTMINSTER

MEN'S BASKETBALL

NEW WILMINGTON — Freshman Quincy Jones poured in a career-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds to lead the Westminster College men's basketball team to an 87-69 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory over Bethany College Saturday afternoon at Ron Galbreath Court inside Buzz Ridl Gymnasium.

Westminster pushed its record to 13-8 overall and 11-5 in the conference. Bethany fell to 3-19 overall and 3-14 in league play. Saturday was the ninth-straight win for Westminster in the series.

Jones led five Westminster players in double figures. He went 9-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-4 at the free throw line.

Junior Andrew Clark posted his fourth double-double of the year with 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. He was 7-of-14 shooting from the field and made 4-of-5 free throw attempts. Junior Reese Leone and freshman Trey DePietro each finished with 11 points and four rebounds. Freshman Bobby Ray added 10 points and four rebounds.

Troy Hixson led three Bethany players in double figures. He finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and was 4-of-6 from three-point field goal range.

Westminster shot over 50 percent from the field for the seventh time this season, converting 53.1 percent (34-64) of its field goal attempts. The Titans hit 17-of-24 (70.8%) of their free throws. Ten men scored for Westminster Saturday.

Bethany shot 42.6 percent (26-61) from the floor and 58.3 percent (14-24) on its three-point field goal attempts. The Bison went 7-of-12 from three-point range in both the first and second halves.

Westminster held a commanding 42-22 advantage on the glass, including a 10-1 edge on the offensive boards. The Titans outscored the Bison 56-28 in the paint.

The Titans, trailing by two, 14-12, midway through the first half, strung together nine-straight points to lead 21-14 with just under eight minutes to go in the half. The Titans pushed their lead to as many as 11 (33-22) before carrying a 38-30 lead into halftime.

Up 60-52 midway through the second and fueled by a 22-7 scoring run, Westminster's lead ballooned to 23 (82-59) with under five minutes left in regulation. Jones scored 12 points during the stretch.

Westminster will host rival Geneva College Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will be featured on the PAC Sports Network.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

NEW WILMINGTON — The Westminster College women's basketball team suffered a 63-60 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) loss to visiting Bethany Saturday at Buzz Ridl Gymnasium.

Westminster fell to 12-9 overall and 8-8 in PAC play. Bethany improved to 7-15 overall and 7-10 in league play. Bethany's victory snapped a six-game losing streak against Westminster.

Senior Natalie Murrio finished with game highs in points (20) and rebounds (9). Murrio was 8-of-14 from the floor and 2-of-3 from three-point range.

Saturday was Murrio's seventh game this season with 20 or more points. Her 15.3 points per game average ranks fifth in the league.

Junior Mariah Vincent (Kennedy Catholic High) had nine points and three rebounds. Freshman Gracie Schill totaled eight points, five rebounds and three steals while senior Lindsay Bell added four points and nine boards.

Sophie Morey led three Bethany players in double figures with 15 points. She added eight rebounds, four blocked shots and a pair of steals.

Bethany, trailing 18-16 after the opening quarter, took a two-point lead, 30-28, into the break on Morey's layup with 35 seconds to go in the second quarter.

A Morey bucket with less than two minutes gone in the third quarter pushed Bethany's lead to seven, 35-28. Murrio cut the deficit to three, 45-42, with under 30 seconds left in the quarter.

The Bison put together an 11-5 scoring run over the first 4:26 of the fourth to jump out to a 56-47 advantage. A 13-5 spurt by Westminster, keyed by a Vincent three-pointer, cut the Bethany lead to just one, 61-60, with seven seconds remaining in regulation. Bella Skobel hit a pair of free throws down the stretch to secure the three-point road win.

Westminster shot 39.7 percent (23-58) from the field and made 5-of-10 three-point field goal attempts. The Titans shot just 56.3 percent (9-16) from the free throw line.

Bethany made 35.0 percent (21-60) of its attempted field goals and went 6-of-19 (31.6%) from three-point range. The Bison finished 15-of-17 (88.2%) at the free throw line.

Westminster held a 38-35 edge in rebounding. Bethany turned 18 Westminster turnovers into 26 points.

The Titans will travel to Beaver Falls Wednesday to take on rival Geneva College. Tipoff at Metheny Fieldhouse is scheduled for 7 p.m.

GROVE CITY

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

PITTSBURGH — When the Grove City College women's basketball team hosted Presidents' Athletic Conference rival Chatham last month, the Wolverines needed to rally from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter to pull out a 60-59 victory. In Saturday's rematch at Chatham, the Wolverines needed no late heroics.

Grove City (13-8, 13-3 PAC) bolted to a 25-9 lead in the first quarter and never trailed on the way to a 91-83 road victory at the Chatham Center. Grove City shot 57 percent (33 of 58) from the field and produced four double-digit scorers.

Senior guard Megan Kallock fired in 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting while junior center Katie Baller recorded her first collegiate double-double with a career-high 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Junior forward Kat Goetz recorded 13 points and 11 rebounds for her second straight double-double. Sophomore guard Mara Polczynski also pumped in 13 points.

Chatham battled back to tie the game late in the first half, 39-39, but Kallock's three-pointer on the final possession of the half gave Grove City a 42-39 halftime lead. Kallock opened the second half with another three-pointer as the Wolverines hit their first five shots of the third quarter.

Grove City led 69-55 after three quarters and then assumed its largest lead of the game, 75-57, on back-to-back Baller baskets. Baller went 7 of 10 from the field in Saturday's win.

Grove City outrebounded Chatham, 49-45. Chatham (13-7, 10-6 PAC) shot 27 of 82 (33 percent) for the game.

Polczynski dished out four assists for Grove City while Goetz assisted three field goals. Goetz also blocked three shots. Grove City had 21 turnovers while Chatham turned over the ball 14 times.

Ashlie Louden led Chatham with 30 points.

Winners of five straight, Grove City will visit Waynesburg at 6 p.m. Wednesday night in conference play.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

PITTSBURGH — Three Grove City College men's basketball players scored in double figures Saturday afternoon at PAC rival Chatham but the visiting Wolverines dropped a 75-70 decision at the Chatham Center.

Sophomore guard Jonah Bock fired in 17 points while sophomore backcourtmate Chase Yarberough added 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Freshman guard Mike Christenson added 11 points for Grove City.

Grove City trailed 33-29 with four minutes to go in the first half but surged ahead on a three-pointer by freshman guard Daniel Penosky and a jumper from senior center Josh Bryan. Yarberough's jumper with 30 seconds left gave the Wolverines a 36-35 halftime lead.

Sophomore forward Ben Cano (Greenville High) drilled a jumper with nine minutes left to give Grove City its largest lead, 56-47. Chatham countered with a 10-0 run to reclaim the lead. The teams then traded the lead six times down the stretch.

Yarberough led Grove City with a game-high nine rebounds. Bryan and freshman forward Christian Suceveanu both had five rebounds as Grove City earned a 42-27 edge on the glass.

Grove City shot 43 percent (27 of 63) from the field. Chatham hit 25 of 53 (47 percent) field goal attempts. Grove City had 12 turnovers and Chatham had 10.

Isaiah Smith led Chatham with 14 points. The game featured 12 lead changes and six ties. Grove City defeated Chatham in the teams' December 31 meeting in Grove City, 76-70.

Grove City will host Waynesburg University at 6 p.m. Wednesday in conference action.

MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

ALLIANCE, Ohio — The Grove City College indoor men's track and field team set a pair of program records Saturday while competing at Mount Union's unscored Jim Wuske Invitational.

Grove City's 800-meter relay team of senior Tyler Eagan, freshman Greg Wilson, senior Hunter Jones and freshman Alex Mitchell took second overall with a Grove City-record time of 1:35.75 seconds. The Grove City quartet finished first among Division III relays in the event.

Meanwhile, junior Nick Gustafson broke his own school record in the shot put for the third straight week by recording a best heave of 51 feet, 8 inches. Gustafson finished third overall and first among Division III throwers.

Freshman Landon Haggart (Grove City High) cleared 5-8 to finish seventh in the high jump. Junior Gabe Dunlap earned eighth place in the long jump with a best leap of 20 feet. Dunlap also took 10th in the high jump (5-6).

Sophomore Will Herman finished eighth in the 500 (1:12.38) while classmate Jonah DeWitt captured eighth in the 3000 with a time of 9:28.52. Mitchell earned 10th in the 200 meters (23.39) and sophomore Nathan Striebel took 10th in the 500 meters with a time of 1:14.18.

Grove City returns to action Friday afternoon at Baldwin Wallace's Mid-February Meet in Berea, Ohio.

WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

ALLIANCE, Ohio — The Grove City College women's indoor track and field team continued its preparation for the upcoming PAC Championships by competing Saturday in Mount Union's Jim Wuske Invitational.

Freshman Audrey Karwowski paced Grove City by winning the 3000 meters in a time of 11 minutes, 14.71 seconds. She edged sophomore teammate Grace Smith by .08 seconds. Smith earned runner-up in the 3000.

Karwowski also recorded a runner-up finish in the 500 meters (1:23.49). Senior Abby Biddle (Grove City High) took fifth in the 500 (1:26.09) while senior Emma Vezzosi finished fifth in the 60 meters with a time of 8.07 seconds. Vezzosi took second among Division III sprinters in the event.

Vezzosi also anchored Grove City's 800-meter relay team, which took fifth in a time of 1:55.84. Sophomore Carolyn Colteryahn, junior Sydney Stainbrook (Greenville High) and senior Hailey Weinert joined Vezzosi on the relay squad.

Vezzosi recorded Grove City's top finish in the field events by earning fifth place in the long jump. Vezzosi posted a best mark of 16 feet, 9 1/2 inches, good for second among D-III jumpers. Sophomore Tori Stewart cleared 4-6 to place 10th in the long jump.

Sophomore Natalie Minnaar placed 10th in the 500 with a time of 1:30.35.

Grove City returns to action Friday afternoon at the Baldwin Wallace Mid-February Meet in Berea, Ohio.