FULTON, Mo. – Despite a double-double from senior forward Mikalyn Callahan, the Westminster women's basketball team was defeated at home by St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Fontbonne. The Blue Jays are now 4-3 in SLIAC play and 5-9 overall on the season.
The Blue Jays played strong in the opening quarter, holding the Griffins to just seven points and forcing five turnovers. Westminster closed out the quarter with an 11-1 run to take a 17-7 lead into the first break. However, the Griffins battled back in the second quarter and scored four points in the final 10 seconds of the half to cut the Westminster lead to a single point at halftime.
The Griffins retook the lead 10 seconds into the second half before Callahan made a layup to put the Blue Jays back on top. Fontbonne made two layups to take the lead back and then Callahan tied the game with a three-pointer. The Griffins briefly regained the lead before Kallee Dowler knocked down a three to put Westminster up 36-35. The Blue Jays held the lead until the Griffins made a layup to tie the game at 42-42 with 25 seconds left in the third quarter. Callahan once again made a basket to put Westminster ahead 44-42 at the end of the third quarter. Callahan scored 10 of the Blue Jays' 16 points in the quarter, going 4-5 from the field and making a free throw.
The back-and-forth battle carried on into the final frame and with just two minutes left on the clock the teams were deadlocked at 64 apiece. The Griffins then forced a Westminster turnover and sunk a three-pointer to take 67-64 lead with 1:34 to go. Fontbonne converted four free throws following a pair of missed shots and fouls by Westminster to extend the lead to 71-64 with less than a minute to play. A jumper by Callahan cut the lead to six points with 30 seconds remaining but the Griffins continued to make their foul shots down the stretch. Abbie Reece made a jumper in the closing seconds put the Blue Jays could not make it the deficit and lost 76-68.
Callahan finished as the game's leading scorer with a career-high 22 points and added 11 rebounds. Abbie Reece and Reese Arnold both finished with 11 points while Dowler finished with 10.
The Blue Jays will look to rebound from the loss on Saturday when they host Spalding.
