Fulton, MO 1/4/2022- The Blue Jays women's basketball team hosted the Blackburn College Beavers in the opening game of the SLIAC conference schedule. The Blue Jays got the lead early in the first quarter and cruised to a 94-67 victory to go 1-0 in the SLIAC. The Blue Jays are 7-5 on the season. The Beavers fall to 1-9 and start 0-1 in the conference.
Carli Libhart (Rolla, Mo / Rolla) splashed in a three-pointer to start the game for the Jays. She would hit another three with 5:28 left in the first quarter to give Westminster a 10-7 lead. They would hold and extend that lead for the remainder of the game. Their defense would turn the Beavers over 23 times in the game and it lead to 28 points off of turnovers. The Jays dominated the glass pulling down 64 total rebounds to the Beavers' 38.
The Blue Jays had five different players score in double digits and two recorded a double-double. Annette Ramirez (Sarcoxie, MO / Sarcoxie) lead the way offensively with 15 points. Olivia Hixson (Neosho, MO / Neosho) would have 14 points in her first start of the season. Shelby Kurtz (Camdenton, MO/ Camdenton) would have a double-double scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Joining her in the double-double club was Natalie Archambault (Eureka, MO) who had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Caragan Lockard (Eolia, MO / Clopton) scored 10 points off the bench and also hauled in 9 rebounds of her own.
The Blue Jays will be back in action on Saturday, January 7th when they welcome Eureka College to the Historic Gym. That game will tip off at 1:00 PM.
