FULTON, Mo. – The Westminster women's basketball team defeated Illinois College 87-44 on Friday night to give first-year Head Coach Talisha Washington ('13) her first victory as a head coach.
The Blue Jays scored the first two baskets on the game off layups from Abbie Reece and Reese Arnold. Westminster went up 6-0 on a jump shot by Mikalyn Callahan that was assisted by Arnold. Illinois College called a time out to try to stall Westminster's momentum and cut the lead to 6-3 with a three-pointer when play resumed. The teams battled back-and-forth until the Blue Jays went on a seven-point run to close out the quarter and take the lead 22-15.
In the second quarter Westminster picked up right where they left off, scoring the first eight points of the period to take a 30-15 lead before the Lady Blues made three to make the score 30-18. After that Westminster outscored Illinois College 15-7 and went into halftime leading 45-25.
Westminster opened the third quarter with a steal by Reece and a pair of free throws by Arnold. Westminster outscored the Lady Blues 18-6 in the quarter. Reece scored six points in the quarter and grabbed four rebounds. Rei Imamura dissed out three assists and record three defensive rebounds in the quarter.
The Blue Jays opened the fourth quarter with three three-pointers, two from Arnold and one from Kallee Dowler. Abbie Reece, Corrie Reece and Kendal Miller also made shots from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. Westminster scored 24 points in the quarter and won the game 87-44.
Abbie Reece led Westminster with 16 points and was one of four Blue Jays to reach double-digits in points. She was joined by Reese (14) and Jackie Arnold (13) and Callahan who had 13 points. Imamura recorded nine rebounds and five assist and led Westminster in both categories.
The Blue Jays player again tomorrow against Millikin.
