NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College women's basketball team (2-3, 0-1 PAC) lost, 68-54, to Washington & Jefferson (3-2, 1-0 PAC) on Wednesday night in both team's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener.
The Presidents were in the lead for the first 16 minutes of the game and pulled back in front and led 27-22 at halftime.
W&J took its first double-digit lead of the game with 16:30 remaining in the second half when Beka Bellhy connected on a jumper, giving the Presidents a 35-24 lead. The Presidents had their largest lead of 17 points (54-37) when Erin Lavery made one of two free throws with 7:35 remaining in the game.
Westminster battled back and cut the Presidents' lead to nine points after senior Hannah Shaffer (Apollo, PA / Apollo-Ridge) found classmate Gabby Holko (Pittsburgh, PA / Mt. Alvernia) for a three-pointer with 3:28 on the clock.
Holko led the Titans with 15 points, including 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. Senior Courtney Zitt (Latrobe, PA / Greater Latrobe), junior Courtney Klein (York, PA / Red Lion), and freshman Rachel Durbin (Lowellville, OH / Lovellville) added eight points each. Klein led Westminster on the glass with eight rebounds.
Chelsea Apke led the Presidents with game-highs of 20 points and 17 rebounds.
For the game, Washington & Jefferson out-shot Westminster 38.3%ÂÂ (23-60) to 28.3%ÂÂ (17-60) and out-rebounded the Titans 51-37.
Westminster will host Saint Vincent on 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 and a national leader in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Best Colleges guide. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 378 Colleges" 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.
