The Westminster women's basketball team defeated Greenville College in an exciting 74-71 overtime win. The Blue Jays increase their winning streak to five games, bringing their season record to 12-5 and their conference record to 10-2.
"We know Greenville always plays hard, so it was no surprise it was a battle to end," stated junior Kasey Gatson.
"It is good to have the experience of overtime," commented Head Coach Tracey Braden. "We believe it will help us down the road."
Greenville started the game with a 9-4 lead. Sophomore Andrea Zalis drained a three-pointer minutes later to start a 12-0 to take the 16-10 lead, but Greenville brought the game back within one with 9:39 left in the first half.
Junior Mackenzie Haddox's bucket started another Blue Jay 11-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 12 point lead. The Blue Jays continued to lead, but Greenville cut their deficit to five points heading into halftime, 36-31.
Greenville started the second half with a 14-2 run to take the 45-38 lead just five minutes in. Westminster scored seven to tie up the game, and a three-pointer by junior Sadie Theroff gave the Blue Jays the lead, 48-47.
The Blue Jays increased the lead to seven points, and they held onto it until Greenville knotted up the game at 62-62 with 1:25 left on the clock.
Haddox blocked Greenville's shot with 30 seconds left to stop them from scoring, and the Blue Jays got the rebound. Haddox went for the shot with nine seconds left to win the game, but Greenville got a hand on the ball to send the game into overtime.
After a scoreless two and a half minutes of overtime, Theroff hit a bucket to put the Blue Jays up 64-62 in overtime. Greenville tied up the game three times, but the Blue Jays did not give up the lead. Gatson put in a basket with 00:58 on the clock to take the 70-68 lead.
Gatson put the Blue Jays up by four with 10 seconds to go with two good free throws. Greenville went down and hit a three-pointer to bring the game within one and immediately fouled. Gatson went back to the line and drained two more to take the 74-71 lead.
Greenville put up a three with three seconds on the clock. Senior Danielle Smulczenski pulled down the rebound, securing the Blue Jay's 74-71 overtime win.
"We had several players make key plays at key times, whether it was grabbing boards, getting stops or knocking down shots," Gatson said.
The Blue Jays had four players in double digits. Gatson went 8-15 from the field, putting up 24 points. Theroff scored 18 and went 5-6 from the foul line. Haddox scored went 6-7 from the foul line, putting up 12 points on the game. Zalis added 10 to the win.
Haddox led the team in boards and assists with seven boards and six assists. Zalis pulled down six rebounds.
"Greenville plays so hard and has so many weapons," commented Coach Braden. "It's always great competition, and I'm glad we came out on top. We did a great job with boards and free throws." The Blue Jays out-rebounded Greenville 42-35, and they shot 82.6 percent from the free throw line.
The Blue Jays continue their home streak with a game versus Iowa Wesleyan on Wednesday, February 4, at 6:00 p.m.
