WASHINGTON, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--Top-seeded Washington & Jefferson College claimed a 58-42 victory over No. 2 Westminster College in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament title game Saturday night at Salvitti Family Gymnasium. 

The title is W&J's (23-4) sixth in program history. Its most recent came in 2005-06. 

As the winner of the PAC’s Championship Tournament, w&J will receive the league's automatic qualifying bid to this year's Division III Championship Tournament. Forty-four conferences have been granted automatic qualification to this year's 64-team championship. The selected Division III Championship teams as well as the first and second round site selections will be announced Monday, February 28 on ncaa.com. First and second round games are scheduled for Friday-Saturday, March 4-5. 

The PAC and SportsPITTSBURGH will host the Division III Women’s Basketball national semifinals and national championship March 17 and 19 at Duquesne University’s UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh.

Saturday, February 26 (Championship)
No. 2 Westminster at No. 1 W&J 
Final: W&J 58, Westminster 42
Salvitti Family Gymnasium-Washington, Pa.
Saturday was the first title game matchup between W&J and Westminster since 2004-05... It was W&J's 11-straight victory  this season... W&J 18th-year head coach Jina DeRubbo has won seven PAC titles (5 with Bethany, 2 W&J)... Saturday was W&J's fifth-straight appearance in the league's title game... W&J led 28-23 at the half... A 14-2 W&J run to start the second half pushed its lead to 17 (42-25) with 2:26 to go in the third quarter... Junior Victoria Koeck (Sidman, Pa. | Forest Hills) keyed a 10-0 run with five-straight points... Koeck's three-pointer with 6:49 to play pushed W&J's lead to 18 (49-31)... Westminster junior Natalie Murrio (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Brentwood) scored eight points down the stretch to trim W&J's lead to 12 (54-42) with 44 seconds remaining... W&J senior Aleena McDaniel (Morgantown, W.Va. | Morgantown) totaled 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists... Sophomore Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa. | North Catholic) had 11 points and seven rebounds... Koeck finished with 10 points and three rebounds... W&J shot 41.3 percent (19-46) from the floor... W&J held a 38-31 edge on the glass and outscored Westminster 17-0 in bench points... Murrio paced Westminster with 19 points and five rebounds... Junior Camden Hergenrother (Salem, Ohio | Cardinal Mooney) chipped in with 11 points... Saturday was Westminster's first title game appearance since 2009-10. 

Thursday, February 24 (Semifinal Round 2)
No. 3 Grove City at No. 2 Westminster
Final: Westminster 75, Grove City 62
Ron Galbreath Court inside Buzz Ridl Gymnasium-New Wilmington, Pa.
Westminster advances to its first title game appearance since 2009-10... The Titans won their lone PAC title in 2004-05... Westminster led 42-21 at the half... The Titans shot 62.1 percent (18-29) from the field in the first half... Westminster had five players score in double figures... Junior Lindsay Bell (Youngstown, Ohio | Ursuline) finished with 13 points and a career-high 19 rebounds... Junior Natalie Murrio (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Brentwood) had a game-high 20 points... Senior Magen Polczynski (Irwin, Pa. | Norwin) and junior Camden Hergenrother (Salem, Ohio | Cardinal Mooney) each finished with 13 points... First-year Mackenzie Powell (Harrison City, Pa. | Penn-Trafford) chipped in with 10 points... Westminster outscored Grove City 28-22 in the paint... Freshman Clara Hannon (Grove City, Pa. | Grove City) fired in a career-high 19 points and senior Allison Podkul (Greensburg, Pa. | Hempfield) recorded a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double for Grove City... Freshman Mara Polczynski (Irwin, Pa. | Norwin) added 10 points.

Thursday, February 24 (Semifinal Round 1)
No. 5 Bethany at No. 1 W&J
Final: W&J 55, Bethany 47
Salvitti Family Gymnasium-Washington, Pa.
Thursday was W&J's 10th-straight win... W&J has won five PAC titles, with its most recent coming in 2005-06... W&J has advanced to the PAC title game for a fifth-straight season... Senior Piper Morningstar (Pittsburgh, Pa. | North Allegheny) led W&J with a team-high 13 points... Sophomore Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa. | North Catholic) posted 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists... Senior Kamryn Lach (Bethel Park, Pa. | Bethel Park) added eight points... W&J led 35-15 at the half, holding Bethany to a two point second quarter... Bethany outscored W&J 19-11 in the third quarter and 13-9 in the fourth... Senior Courtney Walker (Moundsville, W.Va. | Cameron) paced Bethany with 19 points and six rebounds... Sophomore Makenzee Mason (Lithopolis, Ohio | Bloom-Carroll) and freshman Lindsey Garrison (Triadelphia, W.Va. | Wheeling Park) each finished with nine points.  

Tuesday, February 22 (Quarterfinal Round 4)
No. 5 Bethany at No. 4 Chatham 
Final: Bethany 64, Chatham 44
Athletics and Fitness Center-Pittsburgh, Pa.
Bethany will advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2011-12... The Bison own six PAC titles, with its most recent coming in 2003-04... Chatham defeated Bethany twice during the regular season, winning at Bethany 55-46 on January 31 and in Pittsburgh 67-38 on February 12... In their only previous postseason matchup, (7) Chatham defeated (6) Bethany 74-61 on February 20 in the first round of the 2016-17 tournament... Bethany freshman Asheigh Wheeler (Quaker City, Ohio | Shenandoah) paced all scorers with 19 points... She added eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals... Freshman Lindsey Garrison (Triadelphia, W.Va. | Wheeling Park) totaled 10 points and three rebounds... Senior Taylor Stinnett (Barberton, Ohio | Barberton) finished with five points and a game-high 13 rebounds... Senior Kelsie Meintel (Moundsville, W.Va. | Cameron) had nine points and seven rebounds... Bethany outrebounded Chatham 53-26, including a 20-6 edge on the offensive glass... Chatham graduate student Maddy Grennes (Westfield, Ind. | Westfield) led the Cougars with 12 points and five rebounds... First-year Emily Durkee (Elkridge, Md. | Howard) and graduate student Julianna Skowron (Sewickley, Pa. | Oakland Catholic) each had eight points. 

Tuesday, February 22 (Quarterfinal Round 3)
No. 6 Saint Vincent at No. 3 Grove City
Final: Grove City 65, Saint Vincent 43
Grove City College Arena-Grove City, Pa.
Grove City is making its fifth-straight appearance in the championship tournament semifinals... The Wolverines won the conference title in 2019-20... Grove City has two PAC championships (1986-87)... Tuesday was the third all-time postseason matchup between Grove City and Saint Vincent (2013-14, 2015-16), with Saint Vincent winning the previous two... Grove City freshman Clara Hannon (Grove City, Pa. | Grove City) scored a career-high 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting... Senior Allison Podkul (Greensburg, Pa. | Hempfield) posted an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double, her sixth of the season... Ten players scored for Grove City... The Wolverines outscored the Bearcats 24-14 in the paint... Saint Vincent junior Ella Marconi (Kane, Pa. | Kane) finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and six blocks... Senior Taylor Geer (Emlenton, Pa. | Keystone) had 10 points and four rebounds. 

Tuesday, February 22 (Quarterfinal Round 2)
No. 9 Geneva at No. 2 Westminster
Final: Westminster 105, Geneva 77
Ron Galbreath Court inside Buzz Ridl Gymnasium-New Wilmington, Pa.
Tuesday marked the first-ever championship tournament matchup between Geneva and Westminster... Westminster will appear in the semifinal round for the third-straight season... The Titans won their lone PAC title in 2004-05... Five Westminster scorers finished in double figures... Junior Camden Hergenrother (Salem, Ohio | Cardinal Mooney) led the Titans with 18 points, four rebounds and 11 assists... Senior Magen Polczynski (Irwin, Pa. | Norwin) totaled 17 points, six rebounds and four assists... Sophomore Caitlyn Condoleon (Warren, Ohio | John F. Kennedy) finished with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting while first-year Mackenzie Powell (Harrison City, Pa. | Penn-Trafford) added 15 points and six rebounds... Junior Natalie Murrio (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Brentwood) had 14 points, five rebounds and six assists... Junior Lindsay Bell (Youngstown, Ohio | Ursuline) totaled seven points and 14 rebounds... Geneva freshman Taylor Jackson (Clairton, Pa. | Clairton) scored a career-high 18 points to go along with three rebounds and four assists... Sophomore Cynthia Stewart (Silver Spring, Md. | Paint Branch) had 17 points, four assists and four steals. 

Tuesday, February 22 (Quarterfinal Round 1)
No. 8 Waynesburg at No. 1 W&J
Final: W&J 77, Waynesburg 45
Salvitti Family Gymnasium-Washington, Pa.
Tuesday's championship tournament matchup was the first between Waynesburg and W&J since meeting in the 2015-16 semifinals... (2) W&J earned an 88-66 victory over (3) Waynesburg on February 26 in Crestview Hills, Ky. ... W&J is moving on to the semifinal round for a 10th-straight season... The Presidents have won five PAC titles, with its most recent coming in 2005-06... W&J had 12 players score Tuesday night... Sophomore Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa. | North Catholic) paced the Presidents with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting... She added seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks... Freshman Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa. | Albert Gallatin) finished with 12 points while senior Piper Morningstar (Pittsburgh, Pa. | North Allegheny) had 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks... W&J shot 45.6 percent (31-68) from the floor... Senior Brooke Fuller (Allison Park, Pa. | Hampton) registered an 18-point, 14-rebound double-double for Waynesburg... She is tied for the league lead with 10 this season... Fuller added four blocks... Junior Anika Dansby (Massillon, Ohio | Washington) had eight points and seven rebounds.  

Monday, February 21 (First Round 2)
No. 9 Thiel at No. 8 Waynesburg
Final: Waynesburg 63, Thiel 53
Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse-Waynesburg, Pa.
Monday's meeting was the second straight between Thiel and Waynesburg in the opening round of the championship tournament... (8) Waynesburg eked out a 72-67 overtime win over (9) Thiel on March 13... Senior Brooke Fuller (Allison Park, Pa. | Hampton) paced Waynesburg with 20 points and seven rebounds... She is tied for the league lead with eight games of 20 or more points this season... Fuller went 8-of-13 from the floor... Monday was her ninth double-double this season... Junior Anika Dansby (Massillon, Ohio | Washington) finished with a 12-point, 13 rebound double-double... It was her first of the season... Dansby also had seven assists... Sophomore Avery Robinson (Ravenna, Ohio | Ravenna) chipped in with 11 points, five rebounds, six assists and six steals... Junior Destiny Johnson (Baltimore, Md. | Western) was the lone Thiel player in double figures... She finished with a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double... It was her ninth of the season... Sophomore Sha'nia Stiers-Royal (Austintown, Ohio | Austintown Fitch) had seven points and eight rebounds... Thiel finished with a 20-16 edge in bench points and a 32-26 advantage in points in the paint... Waynesburg outrebounded Thiel by a 47-38 margin. 

Monday, February 21 (First Round 1)
No. 10 Franciscan at No. 7 Geneva
Final: Geneva 76, Franciscan 73
Metheny Fieldhouse-Beaver Falls, Pa.
Monday was Geneva's first-ever victory in the league's championship tournament... This is Geneva's fifth all-time appearance in the tournament... Trailing Franciscan 15-11 after one quarter, Geneva outscored Franciscan 25-11 in the second to carry a 36-26 lead into the half... Francisan outscored Geneva 47-40 in the second half, including a 24-18 advantage in the fourth quarter... Junior Mia San Nicolas (Sinajana, Guam | Academy of Our Lady of Guam) led Geneva with a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double... It was her league-best 10th this season... San Nicholas also had four blocks in the win... Sophomore Cynthia Stewart (Silver Spring, Md. | Paint Branch) registered a 17-point, 10-steal double-double... She set a new Geneva single-season record for steals (84) Monday... Sophomore Emily Bucheit (Kane, Pa. | Kane) added 12 points and nine rebounds... Freshman Felicia MacGillivray (Ardmore, Pa. | Homeschooled) paced Franciscan with 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals... Freshman Lauren Arena (Northville, Mich. | St. Catherine of Siena Academy) had 14 points... Freshman Madison Doan (Escondido, Calif. | Saint Joseph Academy) totaled 12 points and eight rebounds while freshman Jazzlyn Melnyk (Weirton, W.Va. | Madonna) chipped in with a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double... She also had six assists and four steals... Franciscan held a 60-47 advantage on the boards... Geneva owned a 30-7 edge in bench points.