Elsah, IL 2/1/2021- The Westminster women's basketball team won their sixth straight game after defeating the Principia College Panthers 89-54. Two 20-point scorers led the Blue Jays, junior forward Madison Schaeffer (Cincinnati, Ohio / Fairfield), who recorded a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Senior guard Reese Arnold (Lonedell, Mo. / Washington) scored 20 points. She also had a team-high three steals and three blocks.
Schaffer went to work early, getting fouled thirty seconds into the game and hit a pair of free throws. Shelby Kurtz (Camdenton, Mo. / Camdenton) hit a three, Arnold followed with a fast-break layup, and the Jays ran out to a 7-0 start in the first quarter. The Panthers would score their first points with 7:18 left in the quarter and go on a seven-point run as they battled back to cut the lead to four points at 13-9, with four minutes left in the opening quarter. The Blue Jays responded with two Annette Ramirez (Sarcoxie, MO / Sarcoxie) free throws, two buckets from Schaffer, and a Caragan Lockard (Eolia, MO / Clopton) jump shot to close out the quarter, 21-11.
Principia continued to battle in the second quarter, getting within five points halfway through the period. Then Ramirez decided she had enough of that and would score five unanswered points. She would propel her team to a 40-29 lead at halftime. Ramirez scored nine points in the second quarter.
The Blue Jays would overwhelm the Panthers in the second half and cruise to a final score of 89-54. Westminster scored 49 points in the second half and held the opposition to just 25. Westminster shot 50 percent from the field, going 33-66, 6-18 from the three-point arc, and 17-23 from the free-throw line. The Panthers shot 30 percent from the field. This game was reminiscent of the first meeting between these two teams. It was a battle early, then Westminster would have too much firepower for the Panthers to handle.
The women's basketball team return home and prepare for a showdown between the two top teams in the SLIAC as they host the undefeated Webster University Gorloks. That game will tip-off at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 5th.
