NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College women's basketball team survived and advanced in the first round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Tournament by defeating visiting Waynesburg, 55-51, on Tuesday night. The fourth-seeded Titans (12-14) advanced to play second-seeded Washington & Jefferson (23-3) on Friday at 6 p.m. at Thomas More. Fifth-seeded Waynesburg finishes its season with a record of 9-17.
Waynesburg had possession and down by three points with seven seconds left, but the Titans induced a turnover on the inbounds pass and Westminster made one of two foul shots with two seconds left.
Senior guard Amy Dolsak (McDonald, Ohio/McDonald) led the Titans with 12 points to go with seven rebounds. Four different Titans followed Dolsak in the scoring column with eight points, including freshman forward Andi Ridge (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Starpoint) and junior point guard Kaitlin McCarthy (Lowellville, Ohio/Lowellville) who tied for a game-high nine rebounds, while McCarthy led the Titans with five assists.
Freshmen Katie Hughes (Boardman, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney) and Jenn Cantella (Freedom, Pa./Freedom) also bucketed eight points apiece.
Three Yellow Jackets scored in double figures, led by Brittany Spencer with 15, followed by Elisha Jones and Hannah Hunter with 11 points apiece. Spencer also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
Westminster shot 37.5 percent (21-56) from the floor compared to Waynesburg at 28.4 percent (19-67). The Titans held a 55-37 rebounds advantage, but they committed 18 turnovers to Waynesburg's seven.
The Titans held their largest lead of the game with an eight-point, 18-10 advantage with 5:54 left in the first half. After leading 21-19 at halftime, there were seven lead changes before Amy Dolsak nailed a jumper that gave Westminster the lead for good (40-39) with 6:21 left in the game. Westminster would go up by as many as six points down the stretch.
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.
