NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Despite turning in its best shooting performance of the season, the Westminster College women's basketball team lost 78-75 at home to Waynesburg Tuesday night in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game. The Titans fall to 3-9 on the season and 0-5 in the PAC, while the Yellow Jackets improve to 9-2 overall and 3-1 in the league.
The Titans shot a season-best 47.5 percent (29-61) from the floor compared to Waynesburg's 43.3 percent (29-67). That was the Titans' best shooting percentage since making half their shots in the 2008-09 season finale.
Senior point guard Kaitlin McCarthy (Lowellville, Ohio/Lowellville) led the Titans with 16 points and six assists on 4-8 of shooting from the floor.
McCarthy now has 334 career assists as she surpassed Alyson Gasper (329 from 2001-05) to move into fourth place on Westminster's career assists list.
Freshman guard Courtney Zitt (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) and sophomore forward Katie Hughes (Boardman, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney) each came off the bench to score 11 points.
Zitt's desperation 3-pointer from the left wing was blocked as time expired after the Titans nearly came back from a 10-point deficit with 3:34 remaining.
Hannah Hunter led Waynesburg with 28 points including 17 in the first half and 12-13 shooting from the free-throw line. Elisha Jones also bucketed 17 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for the Yellow Jackets.
Waynesburg led 43-29 at halftime before it took its largest lead of the game with a 16-point, 55-39 cushion with 13:12 remaining. Westminster whittled that lead down to three before the Jackets went back up by 10 on two occasions.
The Titans came within two points on two occasions with under a minute remaining. McCarthy answered Jessi Drayer's jumper to cut the gap to two points with 18 seconds left, but Brittany Spencer made the back end of two free throws with 14 ticks on the clock to set up Westminster's last gasp.
The Titans outrebounded the Jackets 38-34 but they committed 20 turnovers to Waynesburg's 11.
Westminster hosts Washington & Jefferson Saturday at 2 p.m.
About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College ranks first in the nation as "Best College for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math," according to Forbes.com. Westminster is a top tier liberal arts college, a national leader in graduation rate performance, and a "Great School, Great Price," according to U.S. News Best Colleges guide. Westminster ranked 38th among liberal arts colleges, 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 373 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.
