CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. - The Westminster College women's basketball team lost its first game of the season as No. 11-ranked Thomas More handed the Titans a 79-59 loss on the road Saturday afternoon in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action.
Westminster (6-1, 1-1 PAC) falls one game shy of tying the 1988-89 team (7-0) for the best start in team history.
Senior guard/forward Emilee Ackerman (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) led the Titans with 20 points and nine rebounds for her sixth straight game with at least 20 points and eight rebounds this season. Ackerman made 7 of 15 shots from the floor as the Titans shot 35.7 percent (20-56) as a team, compared to the Saints at 42 percent (21-50).
Westminster held a 43-30 rebounding advantage, but the Titans committed 20 turnovers compared to the Saints' nine, while Thomas More also scored 29 points (on 40 attempts) from the free-throw line.
Thomas More (7-0, 2-0 PAC), the defending PAC champion who handed DePauw and Wilmington their only losses so far this year, can add Westminster to that list of NCAA tournament teams it knocked off this season.
Tandrea Sellers led the Saints with 20 points on 6-8 shooting from the field, heading up a list of four Saints scoring in double figures.
In addition to Ackerman's 20 points, junior guard Gina Brunetti (Canfield, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney) reached double figures for the Titans with 13 points, including three 3-pointers.
Westminster trailed nearly the entire game, as Thomas More held a 41-28 halftime lead and led by as many as 24 points (61-37) with 10:22 remaining in the game. Westminster could only trim that lead down to 13 points (70-57) with 2:30 left in the game.
The Titans are off next week for final examinations before picking up its schedule with a non-conference home game vs. Allegheny on Thursday, Dec. 20, at 6 p.m.
About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is ranked 15th among liberal arts colleges, according to the Washington Monthly 2007 Annual College Guide. Westminster is a national leader 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 366 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 undergraduate and graduate students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty while choosing from 41 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa., campus.
