NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College women's basketball team advanced to the semifinal round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Tournament Tuesday night with a 67-46 quarterfinal win over seventh-seeded Grove City.
The second-seeded Titans will now face three-seeded Washington & Jefferson in the semifinals held Friday, Feb. 23, at top-seeded Thomas More beginning at 6 p.m.
Westminster (21-5) has now tied a school record for wins in a season, equally the total set by the 2004-05 team that went 21-8, won the PAC and advanced to the second round of the NCAA playoffs.
Westminster senior guard Desiree Sterling (Newton Falls, Ohio/Newton Falls) led all scorers with 17 points to go with seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Junior guard/forward Emilee Ackerman (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) broke double figures with 14 points, as well as senior guard Rachel Eaton (Rimersburg, Pa./Union) tying a season high with 12 points.
Senior forward Talley Felger (Petersburg, Ohio/Springfield Local) led Westminster with nine rebounds as the Titans out-rebounded the Wolverines, 36-26.
In addition to shooting 46.2 percent (24-52) from the field, Westminster was a perfect 15-of-15 from the free throw line.
Rachel McCoy led Grove City (5-20) with nine points.
The Titans took a commanding 17-point, 25-8 lead 11 minutes into the game, before leading 33-18 at halftime. Grove City whittled the lead down to five points (38-33) eight minutes into the second half, before Westminster went back up by 17 points (52-35, 7:33) just over four minutes later.
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.
