CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. - In a game between the two teams tied for first place in the conference standings, the Westminster College women's basketball team had its eight-game win streak snapped Saturday at Thomas More in overtime, 82-69.  Westminster drops to a second-place tied with Washington & Jefferson in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) with a 6-2 record and an overall mark of 16-5, while Thomas More takes over sole possession of first place with a 7-1 record in league play and a 17-3 overall mark.
Senior guard Desiree Sterling (Newton Falls, Ohio/Newton Falls) led the Titans by tying a career high with a season-high 26 points, which including her making 13 of 14 free throw attempts.
Three other Titans scored in double figures, including junior guard/forward Emilee Ackerman (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) bucketing 13 points, freshman center Rachel Martinko (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) scoring 12 and senior guard Nicole Fee (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) netting 10.
Martinko achieved her first career double-double as she pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds. Senior forward Talley Felger (Petersburg, Ohio/Springfield Local) also grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds, despite Thomas More holding a 46-42 rebounding advantage.
Thomas More's shooting was better than Westminster's with a 43.9 percent (29-66) to 35.3 percent (24-68) disparity from the floor, which included the Saints making all seven shot attempts in overtime (three from 3-point range) and the Titans shooting just 22.2 percent (2-9) in the extra frame.
Thomas More, led by Megan Wood's 19 points for the game, outscored the Titans 20-7 in overtime. Three of the Saints' first made field goals in overall were 3-pointers as Thomas More jumped to an 11-point, 73-62 lead halfway through the five-minute overtime period before the Titans managed to score a point. Westminster finally scored in overtime but Thomas More had already taken a 13-point lead and eventually led by as many as 15 before securing the win.
Westminster led the entire first half, including a 10-point, 18-8 margin at the 9:30 mark, before holding a 30-29 halftime advantage. The Saints went on a 12-0 run to take a 38-30 lead in the second half. Westminster went back up by eight points with 4:49 remaining in the game, but the Saints' 50-percent, 11-22 shooting from 3-point range for the game quickly gave them the lead two minutes later.
Wood knocked down two foul shots to tie the game with 30 seconds remaining, and, after Ackerman missed a potential game-winning shot with seven seconds remaining, the Saints couldn't get a shot off at the other end as the game went to overtime.
The Titans return to action Wednesday, Feb. 7, for a PAC game at Grove City beginning at 5:30 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.
