NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College women's basketball team won, 78-71, against Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) foe Waynesburg at home on Saturday.
The win was Westminster's fourth-straight, the longest since the 2009-10 when the Titans won five-in-a-row.
Westminster (6-6, 3-2 PAC) came out of the gates with a 13-0 lead, which was capped off with a jumper from freshman Rachel Durbin (Lowellville, OH / Lovellville) with 15:48 on the clock. The Titans, who never lost the lead in the game to Waynesburg (6-7, 4-2 PAC), had their largest lead of 17 points twice in the first half. The second time came with 11:14 remaining when Durbin connected on another jumper, giving Westminster a 22-5 lead. The Titans held a 40-32 halftime lead.
The Titans were up 66-51 with 5:05 remaining in regulation, however the Yellow Jackets kept battling with a 10-1 run and cut Westminster's lead to 67-61 lead with 3:40 on the clock. Waynesburg pulled within five points (76-71) with five seconds on the clock, however two made free throws from senior Hannah Shaffer (Apollo, PA / Apollo-Ridge) sealed the Titan victory.
For the game, Westminster out-shot Waynesburg 44.4% (24-54) to 33.8% 27-80. The Yellow Jackets had a 50-40 rebound edge.
Titan senior Gabby Holko (Pittsburgh, PA / Mt. Alvernia) led Westminster with 22 points, including a game-high 10-for-11 from the free throw line. Also scoring in double-digits for Westminster were senior Courtney Zitt (Latrobe, PA / Greater Latrobe) and Courtney Klein (York, PA / Red Lion) with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Klein's points marked a career-high. Junior Jenna Grandy (Sharpsville, PA / Sharpsville) added nine points off a team-high three three-pointers. Zitt had a team- and season-high nine rebounds. Klein and Shaffer added seven rebounds each. Klein had a game-high three blocks. Holko also dished out a game-high four assists.
Courtney Sargent led Waynesburg with game-highs of 29 points and 18 rebounds.
Westminster will travel to Thiel on Monday with a starting time of 6:30 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.
