The Westminster women's basketball team overpowered Blackburn College on Wednesday evening, 71-51. The Blue Jays move to a 17-4 record with their 11th consecutive win. They are in first place in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) with a 13-2 conference record and up two games.
"We knew Blackburn was going to play hard for 40 minutes and we would have to work hard to get the win," stated sophomore guard Payton Beeler.
Junior forward Krista Armontrout scored a layup and two free throws to give the Blue Jays a 4-0 lead to start the game, and junior Andrea Zalis hit a three-pointer to take a 7-0 lead before Blackburn was able to get on the board. Armontrout put in another layup to go up by seven, but Blackburn answered with a 7-1 run to bring the game within one point with 1:33 left in the first quarter, 10-9. The Blue Jays ended the quarter with a 6-0 run to lead 16-9.
Blackburn knotted the game at 16-16 36 seconds into the second quarter, but freshman forward Mirrakohl Johnson completed a three-point play to take back the lead, 19-16. Armontrout and senior Sadie Theroff each went 2-for-2 from the foul line to take a five-point lead, and the Blue Jays continued their 11-0 run to go up 12 points, 30-18. Blackburn outscored the Blue Jays 9-6 in the final two minutes, sending the game into halftime with the Blue Jays leading 36-27.
"We had a bit of a rough start tonight," commented Theroff. "We struggled to find our style of basketball early on, but in the second half we found our energy on the defensive end which translated to success on the offensive end. When we are playing our style of basketball it is scary how good we can be. That's really exciting and it is 100% due to the fact we have 17 girls all in and dedicated to this season and this team."
Blackburn brought the game within five points with 1:42 left in the third quarter, but the Blue Jays closed out the quarter with three-pointers from Theroff and Zalis and a layup from senior Kasey Gatson to lead 54-41.
The Blue Jays continued their 15-0 run into the fourth quarter as they grabbed a 20-point lead, 61-41. Blackburn scored six unanswered points, but the Blue Jays outscored Blackburn 10-4 in the final 3:37 to win the game 71-51.
Armontrout led the Blue Jay offense with 14 points after making eight free throws. Gatson added 13 points while Zalis and Johnson put up 12. Haddox led the boards with seven and finished with five steals. Armontrout and Johnson each pulled down six boards.
"We are ready to get back to work tomorrow as always to prepare for Saturday," added Theroff. "We want to take the rest of the conference season game-by-game and continue to work towards our goal of a conference championship."
The Blue Jays host Webster University on Saturday, February 13, for their second to last home game. Tip-off is set for 1:00 pm.
