WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- The women of Thiel College basketball came up just short against the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets losing, 72-70, Wednesday night at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
Through most of the first half the Tomcats and the Jackets stayed neck-and-neck, with the two teams tied at 25-25 to end the first half.
The second half began with Waynesburg continuing to keep the visiting women of Thiel at arm's length by matching the Tomcats point for point. The 'Cats refused to go quietly into the Waynesburg night, however, as they went on a final run with two minutes remaining in the contest, scoring four unanswered points to bring the score to 64-62 with five seconds to play.
Thiel fed the ball into their senior,
Kelly Barzak (Warren, OH/Howland) who drew contact with one second left in regulation to head to the free throw line needing to make both to send the game to overtime. After calmly sinking the first, the Jackets took a timeout in an attempt to ice Barzak. It didn't work, as she sank the second to send the game to overtime.
The two teams continued to play even in the extra frame, thanks in part to the Jackets shooting just three-of-ten from the free throw line in overtime. The Tomcats had a chance to send the game to a second overtime, as they inbounded with three seconds to play but were unable to get a shot off.
Barzak led a dominating Thiel College defense that held Waynesburg to shooting a mere 31.7 percent from the field in the loss. That is the lowest shooting percentage that a Tomcat opponent has shot this season.
Barzak came just four blocks away from a triple-double, as she scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked six shots. Fellow senior
Kelly Muffley (Salsburg, Pa./Western Reserve Academy) led all scorers with 23 points, while also recording her first double-double of the year by adding ten rebounds. Jaclyn Watkins was the third Tomcat to record a double-double, as she poured in 16 points and snagged ten rebounds in the loss.
With the win, the Yellow Jackets improve to 6-8 on the season and 5-2 in the PAC. The loss drops Thiel to 2-12, and 1-6 in the PAC.
The Thiel women head to Grove City, Pa. on Saturday, Jan. 12 for a 1 p.m. match up against the Wolverines.
