by Kayla Reeg
The Westminster Lady Blue Jays competed against the #1 seed in the SLIAC, the Spalding Golden Eagles, on Saturday afternoon. After a long fought battle, Westminster fell 68-46. Westminster is now 7-5 overall and remains second in the SLIAC with a 6-2 record.
Head Coach Tracey Braden commented, "Spalding is a very nice team. They competed with a physicalness and passion. I believe we will learn from this game and get better."
In the first five minutes, Spalding took a quick 8-2 lead, however, the Blue Jays responded quickly after two consecutive baskets from junior Mackenzie Haddox, followed by a jumper from sophomore Payton Gruber. Sophomore Andrea Zalis continued the scoring streak with a three-pointer to put them down by one, 12-11.
Junior Sadie Theroff hit back-to-back three-pointers with 2:24 left in the first half. The Lady Blue Jays headed to the locker room at halftime down 44-27 to the Golden Eagles.
Westminster came out on fire in the second half. Junior Kasey Gatson and Theroff each grabbed a basket and Zalis followed with two made free throws.
Senior Danielle Smulczenski pulled down a huge rebound at 14:01 and put it right back up for two points.
The Lady Blue Jays continued to fight throughout the half but Spalding was able to increase their lead to 22 points with 50 seconds remaining in the game. Westminster was unable to find the net in the final minute, ending the game with a score of 68-46.
Theroff lead the team with 11 points and Zalis pulled down 8 rebounds.
"It was a tough loss today, but there is still a lot of season left.," commented Haddox after the loss. "We will get back in the gym and continue to work on what we need to do to improve as a team."
The Lady Blue Jays will travel to St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday, January 21st to continue SLIAC play against Fontbonne University.
