Finishing with a flourish
AG grad Bezjak wrapped up W&J career with first NCAA win, 1,000th point
The Washington & Jefferson women鈥檚 basketball team and senior Bryn Bezjak were perilously close to falling just short of two significant goals as the clock ticked down.
The Presidents trailed 24th-ranked Messiah by four points with 15 seconds left in an NCAA Division-III first round tournament game on March 7. W&J鈥檚 quest to claim the program鈥檚 first NCAA tournament win and Bezjak鈥檚 quest to reach the 1,000-point milestone both seemed in serious jeopardy.
Bezjak then came to the rescue.
The Albert Gallatin graduate scored two clutch baskets, a 3-pointer and then a driving layup in traffic just before the buzzer, to help force overtime and the Presidents went on to win 76-72.
鈥淭hat was amazing,鈥� Bezjak said. 鈥淲e got to celebrate history. Our first NCAA (tournament) win.鈥�
With the team goal secured, W&J earned one more game, a 78-65 loss to 18th-ranked and host Ohio Wesleyan in which Bezjak made more history, scoring her 1,000th point. She wound up with 10 points in her final game to give her 1,005 for her career.
鈥淭he team goal was obviously more important,鈥� Bezjak said. 鈥淚t just so happened that by reaching the team goal, winning that first tournament game, that wound up helping me reach 1,000. So everything worked out great.鈥�
Bezjak鈥檚 senior class also set a school record. Its sparkling 94-16 mark over the past four years is the most wins by one class. W&J also had an amazing 73-5 record in the PAC during that span.
鈥淏ryn had a great career,鈥� Presidents head coach Jina DeRubbo said. 鈥淪he was a big reason why we won as many games as we did.鈥�
Bezjak had an immediate impact when she got to Washington & Jefferson, coming off the bench to average 6.3 points per game while playing in all but one game. She would start 82 of the next 83 games for the Presidents and average 10.2 points per game over those final three years. She ended her college career with 102 steals, 212 assists and 230 rebounds while shooting 34 percent from the 3-point line and 82 percent from the foul line. A left-handed shooter, Bezjak made 26 of 68 3-point attempts for 38 percent her senior season.
What makes Bezjak鈥檚 1,000-point accomplishment even more impressive was that she filled more of a defensive role for the Presidents.
鈥淪he鈥檚 kind of the unsung hero on our team,鈥� DeRubbo said. 鈥淪he was a big scorer in high school (Bezjak also scored over 1,000 points for the Lady Colonials) but what鈥檚 surprising is that we turned her into our defensive stopper. She worked so hard and probably has the toughest mentality on our team. She always ended up guarding our opponent鈥檚 best player, and she thrived in that role.鈥�
Bezjak鈥檚 main goal was to win.
鈥淲&J is a winning program and I accepted my role as more of a defender and the glue person to hold the team together so I really wasn鈥檛 focused on scoring as much,鈥� Bezjak said. 鈥淚n high school, I could score maybe 20, sometimes 30 points a game. At W&J I averaged maybe 10 points a game.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 been fun playing with a winning team. My main concern wasn鈥檛 scoring 1,000 points, all I wanted to do is win championships.鈥�
Washington & Jefferson won the PAC regular-season title all four years Bezjak played but after winning the conference tournament her freshman year, the Presidents fell short the next two seasons.
鈥淲e won the PAC (regular season) championship and we actually were the No. 1 team in the conference and even ranked in the country my sophomore and junior year but we got upset in our tournament both years,鈥� Bezjak said. 鈥淲e finally won the PAC tournament again this year. We finally accomplished what we had been working for. We were coming off a huge high heading into the NCAAs.鈥�
A letdown seemed imminent against Messiah and there the Presidents were, trailing 62-58 with 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
鈥淚t didn鈥檛 look good and I remember looking over at Stella (Loutsion), who鈥檚 a junior, and Addy (Cherry), who鈥檚 a fellow senior, and I thought to myself I don鈥檛 want this to be our last game, I don鈥檛 want to be done playing with them yet,鈥� Bezjak said. 鈥淲e took the ball out and the play wasn鈥檛 for me but I was open, they got it to me and I made a 3. I was so nonchalant about it, I didn鈥檛 think, I just shot it, and that鈥檚 when I do my best when I don鈥檛 think and just shoot.鈥�
Bezjak鈥檚 3-pointer cut Messiah鈥檚 lead to 62-61 with nine seconds left, and she quickly fouled a Messiah player who made one of two foul shots.
Needing two points to tie, W&J inbounded but the ball was knocked out of bounds, leaving six seconds left. DeRubbo set up another play after a timeout but a deflection called for an improvisation.
鈥淚t was supposed to be for Katie Kovalchick, our post player, but the ball got knocked away,
Bezjak said. 鈥淪he went after it and threw it back to me. I knew there was only a couple seconds left and I said I鈥檝e got to score. I drove in there and threw the ball up and it went in off the glass just before the buzzer.鈥�
DeRubbo recalled Bezjak鈥檚 clutch basket.
鈥淚t was a broken play but at least the ball ended up in Bryn鈥檚 hands,鈥� DeRubbo said. 鈥淚f there was anyone that was going to get it done in that kind of hectic situation it was Bryn. She鈥檚 got that tough mentality and she thrives at driving to the basket and either scoring or drawing fouls.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not surprising. She鈥檚 just that kid who doesn鈥檛 get too stressed out when the pressure鈥檚 on.鈥�
Bezjak and her teammates rejoiced.
鈥淲e all went crazy and I knew when we got to overtime we were going to win that game,鈥� said Bezjak, who came up big in the OT also.
Bezjak was fouled twice on drives to the basket and made all four of her free throws with the final two putting W&J ahead to stay with 2:15 left. Bezjak made another crucial play on a drive to the basket, this time dishing off to Riley DeRubbo, the coach鈥檚 daughter, who made the layup for a three-point lead with 29 seconds left.
After two Messiah free throws cut the gap to one, Loutsion made a pair of foul shots with 13 seconds left to put the lead back at three. The Falcons missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds with DeRubbo, who scored five points in the OT, grabbing the rebound and sinking the clinching free throw with one second remaining.
Coach DeRubbo lauded Bezjak鈥檚 late-season performances for her team.
鈥淪he made those big shots at the end of our NCAA tournament game, the huge 3, the shot at the buzzer,鈥� DeRubbo said. 鈥淚n our (PAC) championship game she just made play after play down the stretch. She just killed it.鈥�
The season would end a day later against Ohio Wesleyan although Bezjak would reach her personal milestone by sinking a long jump shot with 5:58 left in the third quarter on a pass from Meghan Dryburgh.
鈥淚 made what I thought was a 3 but my foot was on the line so it was a 2, but either way that got me there,鈥� Bezjak said.
鈥淭he 1,000 points is something Bryn never brought up to me because I don鈥檛 think she wanted to seem selfish,鈥� DeRubbo said. 鈥淏ut I think it was in the back of her mind and was something she really wanted, and I鈥檓 happy she got it.鈥�
Bezjak always put the team first which is one of the reasons she was a two-year captain for the Presidents, a role she took seriously.
鈥淚t鈥檚 tough because I not only have to focus on myself but all the other players on the team, too,鈥� said Bezjak who was a tri-captain along with Cherry and Dryburgh. 鈥淚 feel the players did look up to me, they watch my every move, they see how I react to situations on and off the court. They鈥檙e like my sisters. I love them all.
鈥淎ddy and Meghan are my absolute best friends. If I ever get married they鈥檒l probably be my bridesmaids. We all have different personalities but that鈥檚 why we all three worked so well as captains.鈥�
Bezjak feels she鈥檚 matured significantly during her time at Washington & Jefferson.
鈥淚n high school I鈥檇 average like 20 points a game and try to do it all myself,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hen when I got here I eventually realized I didn鈥檛 have to worry about scoring so much, I just knew I had to play good defense, get steals, pass the ball, get a shot here and there, and just help my team win, and I was good with that. I also got to where I realized I can鈥檛 control everything on the court, I can only control what I can control, and so I鈥檇 try to not let other things get in my head.鈥�
DeRubbo helped Bezjak in that approach.
鈥淚 love my coach so much,鈥� Bezjak said of DeRubbo. 鈥淪he would always tell me, 鈥楴ext play Bryn鈥� to get maybe a bad play out of my head. That was the same off the court as well. Just reflect but don鈥檛 dwell about what you did wrong then do better next time.鈥�
Bezjak, the daughter of Carl and Lara Bezjak, also expressed gratitude for her family鈥檚 backing over the years.
鈥淚 love my mom and dad and my sister Ally (an AG softball great who went on to start at Saint Francis and Bowling Green). They鈥檙e always motivating me,鈥� Bezjak said. 鈥淎nd my Grandma (JoAnn Arminas) and my Uncle Joe (Bezjak) as well. I wouldn鈥檛 be here if it wasn鈥檛 for them. They鈥檙e my biggest supporters.鈥�
Bezjak looks back fondly on her career at W&J.
鈥淚 thought it went so well,鈥� Bezjak said, 鈥渁nd then the way it finished up 鈥� I couldn鈥檛 have asked for anything better.鈥�