Franciscan 64, Waynesburg 52
Franciscan Starters
Jazzlyn Melnyk, Madison Doan, Felicia MacGillivray, Sophie LaRose, Lauren Arena
Waynesburg Starters
Wesolowski, Miller, Wolf, Seto, Dansby
How It Happened
In their final home game of the season, Franciscan University led a commanding win over the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets 64-52. While the Barons have struggled throughout the year, their grit and determination bore the fruits of victory.
After winning the tip-off, Madison Doan wasted no time putting points on the board, draining a shot on the left block. Shortly after, the sophomore center created a fastbreak after a tremendous block, leading to Jazzlyn Melnyk draining a midrange jumper. A defensive battle ensued, with both teams struggling to score. Points started to drip in for the Barons, and they led by 3 points after the first quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, Franciscan completely shut down Waynesburg. The Yellow Jackets didn't score a single point for the first five minutes. Meanwhile, the Barons scored points in fistfuls, going on an 11-0 run. Even after Waynesburg finally ended their scoring drought, Chiara MacGillivray punished them with back-to-back threes. The Barons ended the second quarter with a comfortable 12 points lead.
Coming into the third quarter, Jazzlyn Melnyk caught fire, scoring 10 straight points. The Barons continued their suffocating defense while raining points on Waynesburg, increasing their lead to 18 by the fourth quarter. The Yellow Jackets weren't able to keep up, and eventually, Franciscan was awarded a well-earned win.
If one thing can be taken away from this game, it would be the Baron's excellent team defense. Waynesburg was limited to 25% from the field, hitting only 4 threes for the entire game. Madison Doan was the anchor on defense, finishing with an astounding 5 blocks. Jazzlyn Melnyk led the way with 16 points and 1 steal. Kylie Panizza played extremely well off the bench, putting in 14 points and 11 rebounds. Overall, this was a much needed victory, and the Barons hope to finish the season strong with their last game against Chatham this Saturday.
Inside the Numbers
-Melnyk led the Barons in scoring with 16
-The Barons had one of their better shooting nights going 30.8% from 3pt
-Madison Doan had a career-high 5 blocks
-For the second game in a row Kylie Panizza led the Barons in rebounding with 11
Up Next
Franciscan will end the 2022-23 season on the road at Chatham on Saturday. The Cougars have already clinched a spot in the playoffs, but they are still trying to improve their seed, as Franciscan will be trying to spoil those plans. The Barons have lost their last four matchups with the Cougars, including one earlier this season. In that defeat, the Barons were led by Felicia MacGillivray who scored 16 points, but too many turnovers and timely Chatham buckets were the difference to give them the edge in that matchup.
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