NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - With two tenths of a second left in the game and a tie score, freshman forward Andi Ridge (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Starpoint) missed one free throw and made the second to give the Westminster College women's basketball team a thrilling 53-52 win over visiting Bethany Wednesday night in both teams' first Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game of the season.
Ridge, who posted four points and six rebounds in the game, was sent to the foul line after rebounding a missed lay-up by senior guard Amy Dolsak (McDonald, Ohio/McDonald) with two seconds remaining.
Dolsak tied the game on a foul shot with 24 seconds left. On the previous Westminster possession, freshman guard Jenn Cantella (Freedom, Pa./Freedom) drained a 3-pointer on an assist from Ridge to cut Bethany's lead to 52-51.
Cantella finished with a career-high 14 points on 4-8 shooting from the field and 4-7 from 3-point range. Westminster's other double-figure scorers included junior guard Kaitlin McCarthy (Lowellville, Ohio/Lowellville) with 11 points and Dolsak with 10.
Kayla Taormina and Audra Droginska led the Bison (1-4, 0-1 PAC) with 18 and 12 points, respectively.
Both teams shot evenly with Westminster shooting 35.2 percent (19-54) and Bethany at 35.3 percent (18-51). The Titans committed 22 turnovers to Bethany's 15 and Westminster held a 41-26 rebound advantage.
Westminster led 27-19 at halftime. The Titans held a 36-31 lead with 11:23 remaining before the Bison went on a 10-0 run to take a 41-36 advantage. Bethany later went up by as many as four points (52-48) following Renee Shepherd's 3-pointer with 1:23 left.
From there, Westminster scored the final five points of the game.
Westminster (2-3, 1-0 PAC) travels to Saint Vincent Saturday 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.
