ST. LOUIS – Despite an 18-3 rally to open fourth-quarter, the Westminster women's basketball team suffered a 69-64 to Washington University on Wednesday night. With the loss, the Blue Jays fall to 3-5 on the season.
The Bears got off to a hot start, opening the game on 10-2 run and led 20-12 after the first quarter. The Blue Jays scored 16 points in the second quarter to bring the score to 37-28. Corrie Reece scored nine of Westminster's 16 points in the quarter, all of which came in the final two minutes of the half. Her nine points led the Blue Jays at halftime followed by Makayla Jackson with seven.
Westminster cut the lead to 38-33 with 7:52 to go in the quarter thanks to a three-pointer from Abbie Reece and a layup by Kallee Dowler. However, the Bears responded by outscoring the Blue Jays 22-11 over the remainder of the period to make the score 60-44 after three quarters.
The teams traded three-pointers to open the fourth quarter before the Blue Jays scored 15 straight points to close the gap to a single point with 2:47 left in the game. The Blue Jays controlled the boards grabbing 10 rebounds during the stretch. The Bears made a pair of free throws to extend the lead to three points. With 20 seconds left in the game, Mikalyn Callahan grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to put the Blue Jays within a basket 65-64. After a Westminster foul the Bears made both free throws to extend the lead to three points and forced a turnover with nine ticks on the game clock. The Blue Jays were forced to foul and the Bears again converted both free throws to close out the game 69-64.
Dowler finished the game with 15 points to lead the Blue Jays in scoring. Corrie Reece chipped in 13 points off the bench and Callahan grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and added 10 points for a double-double. Abbie Reece added eight points while recording 11 rebounds.
Up next the Blue Jays will travel to Springfield, Ohio to participate in the 2019 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic hosted by Wittenberg University. The Blue Jays will face Stevenson on December 29th in the opening round.
