The Westminster women's basketball team topped Eureka College on Wednesday evening, 57-42. The win brings the Westminster Blue Jays to 7-4 on the season and 3-2 in conference.
"Much respect to Eureka," stated Head Coach Tracey Braden. "They play so hard, but we played better at times."
"We've been working hard and focusing on defense and boards this week in practice, and it paid off tonight," commented senior guard Kasey Gatson. "Holding a college team to 42 points is a solid accomplishment and we did that because of everyone's (starters, subs and the bench's) commitment to defense."
Eureka jumped on the board first and maintained possession for the most of the first quarter, but Gatson scored four of the Blue Jay's final five points in the quarter to take the 12-9 lead heading into the second quarter.
Junior Krista Armontrout began the second quarter with a layup just 10 seconds in, and Gatson added three more to extend the Blue Jay's lead to 17-9. Eureka ended the Blue Jay's 10-0 run 1:36 into the second quarter with a three-pointer, but the Blue Jays added another 8-0 run to the board. With 2:30 left in the half, Gatson made a three-pointer to take a 13-point lead, but Eureka pulled a 5-0 run to bring the game within eight, 30-22. Freshman Kelsey Ray made her fast break layup after a steal by Gatson and was fouled on the shot. She made the free throw, giving the Blue Jays a 33-22 lead, but Eureka put one final shot away to send the game into halftime with the Blue Jays leading 33-24.
Six minutes into the second half, Eureka brought the game within six points, 39-32. Senior Mackenzie Haddox made a layup and two free throws to go back up by 11, but Eureka closed out the third quarter with three more points scored to bring the score to 43-35.
A three-pointer from Eureka brought the game within five points just 20 seconds into the fourth quarter, but a 14-2 run brought the Blue Jays up by 57-40 with just under a minute to play. Eureka put in a layup up 41 seconds left, ending the game with a 57-42 Blue Jay win.
"We executed offensively but still struggled to find the bottom of the net," commented Coach Braden. The Blue Jays forced 11 turnovers and blocked three shots, but shot 33.9 percent from the field and just 20 percent from the three point line.
"We need to do a better job of taking care of the ball," Coach Braden went on to say. "We finished with too many unforced turnovers in the second half. We realize it is a process though and we are committed to staying the course!" Twelve of the Blue Jay's 18 turnovers came from the second half.
Gatson led the floor with 21 points after going 8-for-14 from the field and 3-for-5 from the three-point line. Haddox added 13 points, six defensive boards, three steals and two blocks to the win. Junior Andrea Zalis led the Blue Jays with seven rebounds.
The Blue Jays host Blackburn College for their first home game of the new year. The conference game takes place in Fulton, Mo. at 1:00 pm.
