WASHINGTON, Pa. - After leading by as many as 16 points, the Westminster College women's basketball team held on to win its first Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game of the season with a 55-53 victory at Washington & Jefferson Wednesday night. The Titans snapped a six-game losing streak and a 13-game PAC losing streak, the team's longest since it joined the conference in 2000.
The Titans, still alive for the eighth and final spot in the PAC tournament, improve to 5-17 overall and 1-13 in the PAC. The Presidents drop to 8-14 overall and 5-8 in league play.
Westminster led 28-12 with two minutes left in the first half before leading 28-16 at halftime. The Presidents outscored the Titans 37-27 in the second half. W&J held a pair of one-point leads late in the game, including one with 24 seconds left.
Westminster junior forward Emily Dolsak (McDonald, Ohio/McDonald) converted a lay-up with 12 seconds left to put the Titans back up by one. She later knocked down the first of two free-throw attempts with six seconds left before W&J's Vanessa Rivera missed a would-be game-winning jumper at the buzzer.
Sophomore forward Katie Hughes (Boardman, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney) and freshman guard Courtney Zitt (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) led the Titans with 17 points apiece. Hughes' 17 points were a career high as she came off the bench and made 8-12 shots while pulling down five rebounds. Zitt made 7-11 shots from the floor and led the Titans with six rebounds.
Dolsak and freshman guard Gabby Holko (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Alvernia) also bucketed six points apiece for the Titans.
The Titans shot a season-best 47.9 percent (23-48) from the floor and limited W&J to 36.4 percent (20-55) shooting.
Ashley Kirkpatrick led W&J with a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds, while Jamie McKitrick sank 14 points.
The Presidents came back by going on an 8-0 run between the 17:18 and 14:58 marks of the second half to cut Westminster's lead to three points at 32-29. W&J didn't take a lead until the 2:45 mark on a lay-up by McKitrick.
Westminster hosts Thiel, the team it is chasing for the eighth-place spot in the PAC standings, Saturday at 2 p.m. All fans wearing pink to support breast cancer awareness will have free admission.
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.
