NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College women's basketball team saw an eight-point lead erased in the final three minutes in a 61-58 loss against visiting Penn State-Beaver Monday night in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
The Titans fall to 1-4 on the season, while the Lions improve to 6-1.
Senior guard Amy Dolsak (McDonald, Ohio/McDonald) led Westminster by scoring a season-high 20 points for a second straight game as she bucketed 8 of 15 shots from the field. Dolsak also snared five rebounds to go with three assists and a team-high four steals.
Junior guard Kaitlin McCarthy (Lowellville, Ohio/Lowellville) and freshman forward Sam Higgins (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) scored 12 points apiece for Westminster. Higgins, who also grabbed five rebounds, scored just two points in the first four games of the season. McCarthy tied a game-high with four assists.
Freshman forward Andi Ridge (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Starpoint), who scored one point in the game, ripped down a game- and career-high 11 rebounds for Westminster.
Jasmine Green led Penn State-Beaver with 17 points to go with five rebounds, four assists and seven steals. Heather Sandusky also bucketed 14 points.
Westminster shot 36.8 percent (21-57) from the field compared to Penn State-Beaver at 34.6 percent (18-52). The Titans out-rebounded the Lions 42-29, but Westminster committed 35 turnovers while inducing 27 Penn State-Beaver turnovers.
After a low-scoring, 21-17 first half, Penn State-Beaver went up by as many as five points early in the second half before Westminster forged ahead by eight points with 4:05 left in the game. That lead held until the 2:41 mark when Penn State-Beaver made a comeback that included an 11-0 run.
The big plays during the run included Noelle Miloszewski converting a bucket while getting fouled and making the free throw to cut the Titans' lead to one point. Jessica Bartges then made jumper with 16 seconds left that gave the Lions the lead before Miloszewski knocked down a pair of free throws with seven seconds left.
Westminster opens conference play on Wednesday when it hosts Bethany at 6 p.m.
About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is a top tier liberal arts college and a national leader in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America's Best Colleges. Westminster ranked third among liberal arts colleges in social mobility, according to the Washington Monthly College Guide, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 371 Colleges" and "Best in the Northeast" by The Princeton Review, and is named to the President's Honor Roll for excellence in service learning.
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. Visit www.westminster.edu/advantage to view "Advantage: Westminster" A Strategic Plan 2010-2020.
