Franciscan 58, Washington & Jefferson 63

Franciscan Starters 
Sophie LaRose, Chiara MacGillivray, Jazzlyn Melnyk, Kylie Panizza, Madison Doan  

Wash. & Jeff. Starters
Koeck, Berardelli, Bezjak, Cherry, Dryburgh

How It Happened 
The Barons hosted the Presidents of Washington & Jefferson on Saturday at Finnegan Fieldhouse. Franciscan gave the best in the PAC all they could handle, as Washington & Jefferson would need a late run to sneak out with a 63-58 win.

Madison Doan would score Franciscan's first four points to give them a 4-1 edge after three minutes of play. Wash. & Jeff. would retake the lead until Ilena Gonzlaes made a corner three pointer to give Franciscan a 7-5 edge. MacGillivray would also connect on a three pointer with around a minute and a half left in the opening quarter to keep the lead, but the Presidents would end the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 15-12 lead to the second quarter. 

Melnyk would quickly tie it back up at 15-15 with a three pointer to open the second quarter. Panizza also made a big three pointer to keep this one a back and forth thriller. The Presidents would take a four point lead with just a minute and a half till halftime, but Doan would score six points for the Barons to help them go to the half with the momentum and the score tied at 30-30. 

The Barons kept up the momentum with six quick points to open the third quarter. After a Washington & Jefferson basket, Franciscan kept up the hot shooting with a 7-0 run to take their largest lead of the day at 43-32 with less than four minutes to play in the quarter. The frustrated Presidents called a timeout to try to regroup, but Coach Sean Kirk and the Barons finished out the quarter strong to take an eight point lead into the final quarter.

Melnyk and Doan helped climb the lead up to nine points with seven minutes to play, as they kept up the offensive attack. The Presidents would begin to respond, as they would cut it to a three point game with just under three minutes to play. Franciscan would respond with a three pointer by Melnyk to take a six point lead with 2:21 to play. The Presidents would then go on an 11-0 run with 7-8 shooting from the free throw line to retake the lead and go on to win by a score of 63-58. 

Inside the Numbers 
- Doan had another double double with 23 points and 14 rebounds
- Doan was a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line, the sixth Baron to go perfect from the line with at least eight attempts in a game.
- Malnyk scored 13 points with nine boards and six assists.
- The Barons out-rebounded the Presidents by a margin of 44-32. 
- Five Presidents scored double-digit points.

Up Next 
Franciscan will now have almost two weeks between contests, as they take time off for Christmas break. They will return to action at Pitt.-Greensburg on December 30th. The Bobcats have gotten the better of the Barons in recent matchups, as they have won the last 13 meetings. Last season they played each other in Steubenville with Pitt.-Greensburg winning by a score of 56-43. Jazzlyn Melnyk had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Franciscan in that matchup. 

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