NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College women's basketball team defeated Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) foe Chatham University by a score of 52-51 at home Saturday afternoon.
Titan senior
Kayla Bennett (Kent, OH / Theodore Roosevelt) knocked down a free throw with under a second remaining to clinch the victory for Westminster after the team forced a key turnover on the defensive end.
Westminster (15-3, 8-1 PAC) held a slim 12-11 lead over Chatham (11-6, 4-5 PAC) at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Chatham rattled off a 10-0 run to take a 21-12 lead with 7:44 left in the half. With the score at 26-18 in favor of Chatham with 5:15 left, Westminster responded with a 12-0 run of its own to take a 30-26 lead with 1:57 remaining. The Titans took a 32-27 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, the Cougars cut the Titans' lead to four with 3:34 remaining. Westminster led 43-37 at the end of the period. In the fourth, Chatham gained its first lead since the second quarter off of a three-pointer by Emily Ondo to take a 48-47 lead with 4:03 left to play. The Titans reclaimed the lead on the next possession with a layup by junior
Alazia Greaves (West Sunbury, PA / Moniteau). Bennett extended the Titans' lead to 51-48 with a bucket with 1:31 remaining. Ondo hit another three on the next possession to tie the game (51-51) with 1:09 on the clock. With 16 seconds remaining, the Titans got a crucial turnover to ensure the final possession of the game. On said possession, Bennett drew a foul with less than a second remaining and knocked down the first free throw to give the Titans a 52-51 lead. Bennett purposely missed the second free throw to run out the clock to seal the victory for the Titans.
Westminster shot 34.6% (18-52) from the field, while Chatham had a 28.6% (18-63) field goal percentage. Westminster also shot 70.6% (12-17) from the charity stripe. The Cougars bested the Titans on the glass, 48-37. Westminster forced 15 turnovers and scored eight points off of those miscues. The game endured five lead changes and six ties throughout the contest.
Titan senior
Emily Fromknecht (Erie, PA / McDowell) led the way with a team-high 13 points and was 7-8 from the free throw line. Fromknecht also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. First-year
Natalie Murrio (Pittsburgh, PA / Brentwood) recorded a career-high 12 points off of a 4-6 mark from the field. Murrio also knocked down a team-high two three-pointers. First-year
Camden Hergenrother (Salem, OH / Cardinal Mooney) dished out a game-high four assists to go along with six points. Bennett scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds. Sophomore
Magen Polczynski (Irwin, PA / Norwin) tallied seven points and notched a season-high seven rebounds.
Westminster will be back on the court on Wednesday, January 29 when it takes on Thiel College on the road in a conference matchup at 5:30 p.m.
