NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Freshman guard Courtney Zitt (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latobe) sank a 30-foot, 3-pointer as time expired for the Westminster College women's basketball team in its 59-58 win over Thiel Saturday. The Titans win their first home game of the season and the second straight overall to improve to 6-17 overall and 2-13 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). Thiel drops to 5-18 overall and 3-11 the league.
Zitt finished with team highs of 15 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Freshman point guard Gabby Holko (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Alvernia) also bucketed 10 points for the Titans and sophomore guard Danielle Gilmore (Washington, Pa./Trinity) sank seven points.
Ashley Davis led the Tomcats with a game-high 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds, followed by Rianne Thornton with 12 points and Kelly Barzak with 11 points.
Neither team led by more than five points the entire game. After Westminster led 30-29 at halftime, Thiel took the largest lead by any team in the game when Davis hit a jumper to put the Tomcats up 46-41 with 8:56 remaining.
Davis hit another jumper to put Thiel up by two with 1:24 left. Neither team scored until Westminster junior forward Emily Dolsak (McDonald, Ohio/McDonald) knocked down a pair of free throws to tie the game at 56-56 with five seconds left. Dolsak finished with six points and seven rebounds.
Thiel drew a Westminster foul with three seconds left and Nina Gabrelcik sank two free throws to put the Tomcats up by two. Westminster inbounded the ball and Zitt launched the 30-foot game-winner.
Thiel outshot the Titans 44 percent (22-50) to 36.4 percent (20-55), but the Titans outrebounded Thiel 37-33.
Westminster is still alive for the eighth and final spot in the PAC tournament. The Titans need to win Saturday at Grove City, have Thiel lose twice next week, and have Grove City finish higher than Bethany in the standings to secure a PAC playoff spot.
The Titans host Geneva Wednesday at 6 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.
