PITTSBURGH - The Westminster College women's basketball team maintained fourth place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) standings by defeating Chatham, 81-70, on the road Wednesday night.
The Titans improve their record to 13-9 overall and 6-6 in the PAC while Chatham drops to 8-13 overall and 4-7 in the league for fifth place. Holding on to fourth place was significant for Westminster because the fourth seed will host a first-round PAC tournament game in two weeks.
Senior guard/forward Emilee Ackerman (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) tied a career high with 33 points on 10-19 shooting from the field and 13-14 from the free-throw line. Ackerman snared seven rebounds while front-court classmate Terese Marszalek (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) pulled down a team-high eight boards to go with 15 points as the Titans out-rebounded the Cougars 36-27.
Westminster, at 45.5 percent (25-55), held a slight shooting advantage over the Cougars (43.1 percent, 22-51), who also committed 19 turnovers to the Titans' 13.
Chatham's Kayla Hilko bucketed a game-high 39 points on 13-19 shooting (4-6 from 3-point range), while Allason Holt sank 15 points.
Westminster led by as many as 10 points (28-18) in the first half before holding a nine-point, 45-36 lead at the half. The Titans' lead swelled to 17 points (62-45) with 11:08 remaining in the game before the Cougars were able to close the gap to nine points (63-54) less than three minutes later. Westminster was able to recapture a 15-point lead and the Cougars could only draw within eight points down the stretch.
Westminster will host Thiel Saturday, Feb. 16 for a 2 p.m. tip-off.
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.
