Washington & Jefferson College swept the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Basketball Championships Saturday, both winner earning automatic bids to the upcoming NCAA Division III national tournaments. The W&J women won at St. Vincent, 64-43, after having lost to the Bearcats twice in the regular season. Ketie Kovalchick led all scorers with 22 points. Stellanie Loutsion added 17 while Rylie DeRubbo had 14 points. Loutsion was named the tournament’s Outstanding Player with Kovalchick & DeRubbo named to the All-Tournament team. Saint Vincent carried a narrow 29-28 advantage into halftime but W&J seized control in the third quarter, holding the Bearcats to just seven points. The Presidents turned the one-point halftime deficit into a six-point lead heading to the fourth quarter and never looked back. W&J put the game away with a decisive final period, hitting 7-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-4 from three-point range in the final period, and outscored the hosts, 22-7, over the final 10 minutes. The Presidents earned their second consecutive PAC title, the eighth in program history, the fourth under head coach Jina DeRubbo. The NCAA Women’s Division III bracket will be released Monday (2:30 pm).
The W&J men outscored Westminster College, 11-3, over the final 3:40 of the game to rally past the Titans, 68-61, winning an 11th PAC title. Nathan Plotner was named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, scoring 14 points in the final to go with eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Matt Siedl and Matthew Carte each scored 16 points for W&J. Both were named to the All-Tournament team. The Presidents struggled at the free throw line early, making just 6-of-15 over the first 36 minutes of the game. But the Red & Black hit 9-of-10 down the stretch, including the last six straight, to seal the championship. The Men’s Division III bracket will be released Monday afternoon by the NCAA (1 pm).