Three area women on W&J basketball roster
South Fayette graduate Maddie Gutierrez is one of three area athletes hoping to help the Washington & Jefferson College women’s basketball team advance to its fourth straight PAC championship game this winter.
The Presidents finished 18-10 overall last season and 11-5 in the conference. They have reached the conference finals six times in the past eight years.
A 5-10 junior forward, Gutierrez averaged 4.1 points per game and had three double-digit scoring efforts last winter. She managed two points and five rebounds in W&J’s season-opening win against Bethany.
The Presidents also welcome Kamryn Lach and Madison Burroughs to their 2021 roster.
A South Fayette graduate and Bridgeville resident, Burroughs is a 5-11 freshman forward.
A Bethel Park product, Lach played each of the past two seasons at NAIA Carlow University. She averaged 11.3 points and 3.5 assists per game as a starting guard for the Celtics. She totaled 529 points and 179 assists in those two seasons with the Celtics.
Lach scored her first 3-point field goal for the Presidents in their win against the Bison. She also dished up two assists.
After a 10-game revised schedule because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Presidents will participate in the PAC Tournament to be held March 1-6. The Presidents last won a conference title in 2006.
Devine honored
Madison Devine of McMurray was named to the Empire 8 Conference President’s List for the 2020 fall semester. She had also made the list in the spring.
A sophomore, Devine is a member of the W&J field hockey team, which was recognized for its combined 3.43 grade-point average. The Peters Township High School alumna is a business administration major.
Recipients of this honor must earn a 3.75 grade-point average or higher during the semester, while participating in an NCAA-sponsored sport.
In addition, the student-athlete must display positive conduct on and off campus and be enrolled full-time at the member institution. The conference states, “Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the Empire 8 Conference.”
A record 1,086 student-athletes from the league’s membership were recognized for their excellence in the classroom this past semester with the President’s List distinction, one of most prestigious honors in the conference.
W&J welcomes 2
Blaine Gartley of Mt. Lebanon and Seton-La Salle product Michael Bigley are freshmen members of W&J’s men’s basketball team, which began pursuit of a PAC championship with a 65-59 win against Chatham University in its season opener.
Both are 5-11 guards and former all-section performers.
Gartley scored 790 career points and ranks fourth among Lebo’s all-time assist leaders. He helped the Blue Devils to back-to-back WPIAL championship appearances, winning a title in 2019.
Bigley was a three-year starter and a 1,000-point scorer for the Rebels. He averaged 17.5 points per game last year.