Cincinnati, OH 11/11/2022- The Westminster College women's basketball team traveled to compete in the Lauren Hill Classic at Mount St. Joseph University. They took on Heidelberg University in game one. The game would come down to the wire in the fourth quarter, with the Blue Jays cutting the Heidelberg lead to just two points, with fourteen seconds left to play. Heidelberg would make two free throws to put the game away and they hold on to win the game 77-73. The Blue Jays suffer their first loss of the season and are now 1-1 on the young season. Heidelberg improves to 1-0 after winning their first game of the season.
The Blue Jays jumped out to an early 7-2 lead after a pair of buckets from Avylina Powell-Qualo (Republic, MO/ Republic) and a three-pointer from Shelby Kurtz (Camdenton, MO/Camdenton). Heidelberg would gather themselves and tie the game at 13-13. They would end up taking an 18-15 lead to close out the first quarter.
Heidelberg started the second quarter on a 5-0 run and extended their lead to 23-15. The Jays answered back and chipped away at the lead. With 5:30 left in the second quarter, they would go on a run of their own, scoring six unanswered points to tie the game 28-28 after Kurtz hit another three. The two teams would trade baskets back and forth. Annette Ramirez (Sarcoxie, MO/Sarcoxie) made a basket to tie one more time at 34-34. Heidelberg would make a three-pointer right before halftime to take a 37-34 lead at the break.
The start of the second half did not go well for the Blue Jays as they saw their deficit grow to eleven points with less than six minutes left in the third quarter. The Jays would cut at the Heidelberg lead, going on a 14-3 run to tie the game at 53-53 with a minute left in the third quarter. Natalie Archambault (Eureka, Mo) and Ramirez made a pair of buckets to give the Jays a 57-54 lead to end the third quarter of play.
Heidelberg hit a three in the opening moments of the fourth quarter to tie the game 57-57. The two teams would continue to trade leads and tie the game throughout the fourth quarter. Heidelberg would make free throws down the stretch to take a five-point lead with sixteen seconds left to play. Kurtz would hit a three-pointer with fourteen seconds left to make the game 75-73. Heidelberg would hit a pair of free throws to secure the victory and win with a final score of 77-73.
The Jays were led by Ramirez who had 25 points and Kurtz with 17 points.
They will be back in action tomorrow Saturday, November 12th at 12:00 PM when they take on Case Western Reserve in the second game of the Lauren Hill Classic.
