CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. - The Westminster College women's basketball team advanced to the finals of the 2007 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament with a 57-51 semifinal win over Washington & Jefferson at Thomas More College's Connor Convocation.
With the win, the No. 2-seeded Titans (22-5) will play in the finals Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Connor Convocation against the winner of No. 1 Thomas More vs. No. 4 Bethany played Friday night (8 p.m.). Westminster also sets a new school record for wins in a season, surpassing the 2004-05 team that won the PAC and advanced to the second round of the NCAA playoffs with a 21-8 record.
Westminster senior guard Desiree Sterling (Newton Falls, Ohio/Newton Falls) led all scorers with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Sterling also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds (all defensive) and two steals.
Senior guards Nicole Fee (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) and Rachel Eaton (Rimersburg, Pa./Union) bucketed 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Titans.
Emily Hays and Maria Hillenbrand led the No. 3-seeded Presidents (20-7) with 10 points apiece.
Westminster took its largest lead of the first half into the locker room at halftime with a six-point, 30-24 advantage. The Titans' lead swelled to 11 points (41-30) at the 11:00 mark of the second half, but despite calling a timeout the Presidents could not subside the Westminster offense until the Titans took a 17-point, 51-34 lead with four minutes remaining. From there, W&J went on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to six points with 53 seconds remaining but the lead was too insurmountable.
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.
