The Westminster women's basketball team defeated Spalding University 58-55 in this week's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Game of the Week. The win is the Westminster Blue Jay's sixth consecutive win, bringing them to 12-4 on the season and 8-2 in conference.

"We respect Spalding. We always know they will come ready to play and fight for 40 minutes," Head Coach Tracey Braden stated. "The energy we came to the game with was just what this team needed though."

"We had great energy from the bench that transferred to the players on the floor," added senior Mackenzie Haddox. "They helped us spark the run in the fourth quarter that gave us momentum to finish the game."

The Blue Jays opened the game with a 9-2 run 1:39 in. A layup by junior Andrea Zalis gave the Blue Jays a nine-point lead, 13-4, but the Spalding Golden Eagles sparked an 11-0 run to give them their first lead of the game. A fast break layup by junior Payton Gruber knotted the game at 15-15, and another fast break layup by Zalis took back the lead. Neither team scored in the remaining time, ending the first quarter with Westminster leading 17-15.

Spalding knotted the game twice to start the second quarter, but a three-pointer by Gruber gave the Blue Jays a three-point lead. Two free throws from junior Krista Armontrout put the Blue Jays up by four points, but Spalding hit two buckets to tie the game for the sixth time. Haddox hit a jump shot with seconds on the clock to send the Blue Jays into halftime with the 28-26 lead.

Spalding tied the game up twice to start the second half, but a jump shot by Zalis with 4:29 on the clock gave the Blue Jays a one-point lead. A jumper and layup by Armontrout gave the Blue Jays a five-point cushion with 2:23 to go in the third quarter. Spalding scored the final points of the quarter, sending the game into the final 10 minutes with the Blue Jays leading 41-38.

The Blue Jays lost the lead 2:31 into the fourth quarter, but a three by senior Sadie Theroff jump-started a 13-0 run with points coming from Gatson, Zalis and Haddox. Spalding held the Blue Jays from scoring while they hit a three-pointer, a jump shot and two fast break layups to bring the game within three points with 1:37 to play. Gatson hit a basket to bring the Blue Jays back up by five, but the Golden Eagles answered with a jump shot of their own to bring the game back within three. The Blue Jays missed their next scoring opportunity and Spalding pulled down the rebound. The Golden Eagles had their final chance to send the game into overtime with a three-pointer, but missed and Haddox pulled down the rebound. Haddox held the ball to end the close game with the score of 58-55.

"Sadie (Theroff) was the key to our final quarter and to the win. She came off the bench and put herself into the game as if she was never out with an injury. She was just what we needed to pull out this win," Coach Braden said about Theroff returning to the floor.

Coach Braden added that the team took care of the ball well. The Blue Jays finished the game with just eight turnovers and grabbed seven steals while Spalding committed 16 turnovers.

Armontrout led the floor with 12 points. Haddox shot 5-for-9 from the field to tally 10 points and pulled down seven defensive boards. Gatson finished the game with six assists and three steals.

The Blue Jays travel to Greenville, Illinois on Wednesday, January 27, for a conference game versus Greenville College. Tip-off is at 1:00 p.m.