Fulton, MO 12/30/2022- The Westminster College women's basketball team hosted the Central College Dutch in the final non-conference game of the season and the last game of 2022. They would need overtime to decide on a winner. The Blue Jays pull off the victory 88-86 to end the year on a high note and into the start of SLIAC conference play next week. Westminster improves to 6-5 on the season and Central College falls to 3-9.
The Dutch shot out to a 6-0 lead to start the game and extended it out 10-4 in the opening minutes, stunning the Blue Jays. Westminster would regroup and claw to cut the lead to two points with 3:38 left in the first quarter, 15-13. Central College would then score 12 unanswered points, taking a 27-13 lead. Annette Ramirez (Sarcoxie, MO / Sarcoxie) and Shelby Kurtz (Camdenton, Mo. / Camdenton) would hit back-to-back three-pointers to end the first quarter down,27-19.
It would be much of the same in the second quarter, with the Dutch hovering around a ten-point lead for much of the quarter. The Blue Jays would flip a switch with three minutes left to go in the half. They would end the half on a 9-2 run and cut the lead to five. They would go to the locker rooms with a halftime score of 46-41.
Westminster opened the half with a jump shot by Maile Peck (Marshfield, MO/Marshfield) bringing the Blue Jays within three. Ramirez would make a free throw to make it a two-point game. The Dutch would do damage from the free throw line to get the lead back up to seven points at 51-44 with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter. Olivia Hixson (Neosho, MO / Neosho) drilled a three and brought the Blue Jays back within two. Caragan Lockard (Eolia, MO / Clopton) went to the free-throw line after getting fouled. She would make both free throws to tie the game 54 all with 3:35 left in the quarter. The Dutch would continue to have success from the foul line, getting the lead back up to three to end the third quarter, 60-57.
Ramirez would give the Blue Jays the lead of 61-60 in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. The Dutch would hit a three to retake the lead by two. Ramirez answered with another three to give Westminster the lead again. The Dutch would score seven points in a row to take a six-point lead with 5:17 left in the game. The Dutch would hit a three on their next possession and what felt like the knockout blow taking a commanding 73-66 lead. Aly Bullock (St. James, MO / St. James) would score three straight baskets to get the Blue Jays back within three points. Westminster would call timeout with 1:43 left in the game. Coming out of the timeout, the Dutch would foul Ramirez and send her to the free-throw line. She would miss her first attempt and make the second, putting the Blue Jays down two. Central was called for an offensive foul with 38 seconds left in the game. Coach Washington would call a timeout to draw up a game-tying play. Westminster would inbound the ball and Kurtz had her three-point attempt get blocked. Fortunately, Bullock was there to gather the loose ball and tie the game 75-75 with 21 seconds left. The Dutch would call timeout and advance the ball up past half-court. The Blue Jays' defense applied all kinds of pressure, but the Dutch could get a shot off and it would hit the side of the rim, roll all around the rim, and fall to the ground. The Blue Jays would get the rebound but could not get a shot before the buzzer sounded, sending the game to overtime.
Central College would win the tip and score a layup plus a foul to take an early lead. The Dutch would miss the ensuing free throw. Hixson would turn the ball over and it would lead to another Dutch layup, giving them a 79-75 lead to start the overtime period. Natalie Archambault (Eureka, Mo / -) would miss a layup but got her own rebound for a putback. Central College would nail a three and take an 82-77 lead with 3:06 remaining. Kurtz would make a pair of free throws to cut into the lead. Ramirez would hit a jumper to bring Westminster within one. She would hit another jumper to give the Jays an 83-82 lead. The Blue Jays would commit a foul and send the Dutch to the line. They would make both free throws, taking the lead back once again. Ramirez once again scored a basket to regain the lead for Westminster. Kurtz was fouled as Central was trying to extend the game. She would miss the first free throw and make the second, giving the Blue Jays an 86-84 lead. The Dutch called timeout with ten seconds left. After the timeout, Westminster was called for a foul on the inbound play. Central would tie the game 86-86 after hitting both free throws. The Jays would call a timeout of their own. On the in-bounds play, Kurtz would get fouled and head to the line with the game hanging in the balance. She would make both shots to give Westminster an 88-86 lead. Central would call their final timeout with 0.7 left in the game. They would run a play and throw a lob into the painted area, but nobody could gain possession as the horn sounded. Westminster completes the comeback and wins the game 88-86.
Ramirez had a career-high 34 points, going 14-27 from the field. She would make 4 threes in the game. Kurtz scored 11 points and had seven assists and six rebounds. She would go 5-6 from the free throw line and score what would end up being the game-winning free throws. Hixson and Bullock were big off the bench, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Blue Jays play against Blackburn College next Wednesday in the conference home opener. That game will tip off at 5:30 PM from inside the Historic Gym.
