FULTON, Mo. - Westminster women's basketball took its first loss of the season to Central, falling 73-61.
The Blue Jays fall to 2-1 with the loss.
"This was certainly not the result we wanted today, especially in our home opener, but it's certainly part of the process of becoming a team," said Westminster Head coach James Arnold. "Credit goes to Central who made some big baskets and played really hard."
After scoring the first bucket of the game on a three-pointer from Mikalyn Callahan, Central then went on a 10-0 run to make the score 10-3 after four minutes of play. After five points from Mirrakohl Johnson and a three-pointer from Kelsey Ray, Westminster got back in the game to tie the score 15-15 after one quarter.
Hot shooting from Central in the second quarter and a stagnant Blue Jay offense made for a 14-2 run by The Dutch to start the second, who made four straight three-pointers to start the quarter. Callahan's shooting put Westminster back into single digits with a score from behind the arc at the 2:44 mark, making the score 31-24. Kelsey Ray hit a jump shot to cut the lead to five, but a Central three-pointer just before the half put the Dutch back on top 36-28 at the half.
Johnson hit two freethrows to start the half for Westminster and cut The Dutch lead to six, but Central went on a 17-0 run to stop the Westminster offense from a span of 5:36 - 2:47. In that span, Central hit five three-pointers. Kelsey Ray went on a 5-0 run herself to keep the Blue Jays in the game, and Westminster finished the half on a 9-0 run including baskets from Kendahl Adams and Grace Archambault to make the score 56-41 after three quarters.
Westminster again came out to start the quarter by scoring the first points of the period, this time a three-pointer from Adams to give Westminster new life on offense. Despite outscoring Central 20-17 in the fourth quarter, it wasn't enough to take the game from a hot-shooting Central squad.
Archambault tallied her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Adams led the way for Westminster in points with 15, including eight rebounds, four steals, and four assists. Ray added 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
Westminster travels to the Pat Deacon Thanksgiving Tournament in Lexington, Kentucky, Saturday and Sunday where they will face Maryville (Tenn.) and the winner of Transylvania and Otterbein.
"I am happy our kids gets a small break to celebrate Thanksgiving but I am sure looking forward to taking the court again this weekend and getting back to work," said Arnold.
