MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Westminster College women's basketball team opened the 2006-07 season with a pair of losses at the Manchester College Tip-Off Classic held Friday and Saturday. The Titans lost to the host Spartans, 49-45, in overtime Friday, before suffering a 60-48 loss to Defiance Saturday.
In the overtime loss to Manchester, Westminster (0-2) overcame a 10-point (19-9) deficit after shooting just 17.6-percent (3-17) in the first half. The Titans shot 46.2 percent (12-26) in the second half and took their first lead of the game with just under 10 minutes remaining on the second of three consecutive lay-ups by junior forward Terese Marszalek (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway). The latter of the three Marszalek field goals gave the Titans their largest lead of the game at four points (31-27) with 8:58 remaining.
Sophomore guard Gina Brunetti (Canfield, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney) later hit a 3-pointer with 1:25 remaining before Manchester's Stacey Wendel answered with a 3-pointer of her own with 30 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.
The Spartans wound up taking a seven-point overtime lead that Westminster failed to overcome after two unanswered field goals and a Kelley Meiklejohn 3-pointer with 3:28 remaining.
Senior guard Desiree Sterling (Newton Falls, Ohio/Newton Falls) led the Titans with 12 points, followed by Brunetti with 11 and Marszalek with eight. Marszalek also snared a team-high seven rebounds while Sterling dished out a team-high three assists.
Wendel and Meiklejohn paced the Spartans with 16 and 10 points, respectively.
In Saturday's loss against Defiance (2-0), Westminster saw its four-point 33-29 lead in the second half fall by the wayside as the Yellow Jackets took their largest lead of the game at 15 points (56-41) with 3:37 remaining.
Marszalek led the Titans with 21 points, 13 of which on 16 free-throw attempts. Junior guard/forward Emilee Ackerman (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) also scored 11 points to go with her game-high nine rebounds.
The Titans out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets 37-26, but turnovers and poor shooting were decisive. Westminster committed 24 turnovers and shot just 28.9 percent (13-45) compared to Defiance's 16 giveaways and 48.9-percent shooting (22-45).
Mandy White led the Yellow Jackets with 16 points.
Westminster returns to action Tuesday for a non-conference game at Pitt-Bradford beginning at 7 p.m.
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is ranked among national leaders in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America's Best Colleges, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 361 Colleges" and "Best in the Northeast" by The Princeton Review, and was recognized by the Templeton Guide as a "Character Building College."
Nearly 1,600 students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty, while choosing from 41 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa. campus.
