FULTON, Mo. - Kendahl Adams was one assist away from a triple double in the team's win over Spalding to take sole possession of fourth place in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Blue Jays improve to 11-9 overall and 6-5 in the SLIAC.
"I am thrilled with today's win," said Westminster Head Coach James Arnold. "We defeated a really good Spalding team who has been playing very well. This goes a long way in helping us toward our goal of returning to the conference tournament. We still have a lot of work to do, but I'm excited to see what this group is capable of."
Westminster got out to a fast start, scoring 23 points in the first quarter on hot shooting from Adams. She scored 10 of her 26 points in the first 10 minutes, including going 4-11 from the field and 2-4 from the three-point line, helping Westminster to a double-digit lead.
"Kendahl continues to make special plays," said Arnold. "I know I'm partial, but I think she is the MVP of the league and tonight she proved why she is a candidate."
The Blue Jays went up by as many as 14 in the second quarter, but went cold in the remaining minutes of the half and allowed the Golden Eagles to end the half on an 11-3 run, going into the break ahead 35-29.
Spalding again outscored Westminster in the third quarter to pull back within one basket of the Blue Jays at the 6:57 mark. It was Adams who continued to score and never let the Blue Jays trail despite Spalding continuing to threaten to take the lead. Adams scored 11 points in the third quarter on 4-9 shooting. A Spalding layup with 40 second remaining in the quarter gave Westminster a 55-53 advantage going into the final 10 minutes of the game.
Mikalyn Callahan opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer and a layup to immediately give Westminster the momentum. Spalding struggled to score, but stayed in the game by connecting on freethrows. Callahn again hit a three-pointer to go up seven points with 3:28 to play in the half.
At the 1:35 mark, Spalding connected on a three-point play to pull the Golden Eagles back within two points, but an Adams three-pointer was enough to stop the Spalding run. Kelsey Ray and MaKayla Jackson hit freethrows down the stretch to solidify the Blue Jay victory.
Adams was just one assist away from a triple double, scoring 26 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out nine assists. Callahan tallied her third double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 boards. Jackson added 10 points while Mirrakohl Johnson added 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
"It was great to see MJ have a big game and I thought Kelsey Ray showed some great poise tonight and made some great decisions," said Arnold.
The Blue Jays travel to Fontbonne in a big SLIAc matchup Saturday at 1 p.m.
