January 3, 2014
Waynesburg tops Grove City
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Junior Kelsey Shirey (Macedonia, Ohio/Nordonia) poured in a career-high 25 points and set a Grove City record at the foul line, but it wasn't enough as the visiting Waynesburg Yellow Jackets pulled away late to top the Wolverines 85-73 in Presidents' Athletic Conference action on Friday afternoon in College Arena.
Shirey was a perfect 13-for-13 at the free-throw line, establishing a new single-game record for most makes without a miss. Junior Cayley McClean (Airville, Pa./Kennard-Dale) added 12 points for Grove City (1-8, 0-3 PAC) while sophomore Mary McDonald (Slippery Rock, Pa./Portersville Christian) chipped in 11.
The Wolverines jumped out to an 11-6 advantage behind four-straight points from Shirey, but Waynesburg (4-6, 2-1) would respond with a 12-2 run to lead 18-13 with 10:52 remaining in the half.
After both teams traded scores, McDonald made a jumper and McClean added four-consecutive points as Grove City re-took the lead at 21-20. Lauren Blair would make a pair of layups to put Waynesburg back on top, but Shirey and senior Annie Wells (Waterville, Vt./Lamoille) hit back-to-back buckets to give Grove City a 25-24 edge with 5:14 to play.
An Elaine Hasek three at the five-minute mark gave the Yellow Jackets a 27-25 lead, and Waynesburg continued convert on its end, but Shirey would hit six more free throws to keep the game close. The Jackets, however, used an 8-1 run to create some distance before sophomore Natalija Galens (Covert, Mich./Grace Christian) hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to make it a 42-36 Waynesburg advantage at halftime.
Shirey led the Wolverines with 14 first-half points, going 8-8 from the foul line, while Hasek led Waynesburg with 12 on 4-6 shooting.
Grove City would force three early turnovers and make the most of them to cut the deficit to 47-46 on a Brandy Nickoloff layup with 16:43 remaining.
Waynesburg, however, would go on a 12-4 run from there to extend the lead to nine at 59-50 and would maintain that lead for much of the second half. The Wolverines closed within five at 70-65 with 5:40 remaining but would draw no closer.
Grove City returns to action tomorrow, traveling to St. Vincent for a 1 p.m. PAC matchup.
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