NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College women's basketball team got back in the win column following a 66-58 win over the visiting Thiel Tomcats Wednesday evening. Junior
Megan Meyer (New Galilee, PA / Mohawk) and sophomore
Natalie Murrio (Pittsburgh, PA / Brentwood) led the Titans with 21 and 20 points respectively.
Meyer not only set a career-high in points with her game-high total, she set a new career mark in rebounds (7), blocks (2), and made threes (3-for-3). Meyer was one made field goal away from tying a school record for field goal percentage in a game (Teale Ganster (2001), 90.0 (9-10). 17 of Meyer's points came in the second half, including all of her threes.
Westminster (3-1) was in command of the first quarter, never trailing and led 18-10 after one. The Titans took their first double-digit lead as Murrio scored the first points of the second quarter with a layup (20-10). Thiel (0-1) managed to cut the Titans' lead to 27-26 with 1:46 left in the first half. Meyer's hook shot with nine seconds on the clock gave Westminster a 29-26 halftime lead.
The Tomcats took their first lead of the game in the beginning of the third quarter when Rachel Breckenridge made a fast break-three, putting Thiel in front 35-34. Thiel went up by four with another three, this one courtesy of Nielah Jones, for its largest lead of the game. Westminster responded with back-to-back threes of its own, off the hands of Murrio and Meyer, and regained the lead at 40-38 with 3:52 on the clock. 10 lead changes ensued for the remainder of the quarter, with the Titans getting the edge, holding a 51-50 lead going into the final frame. In the third quarter, both teams shot 50%.
Thiel had a 56-55 lead with five minutes to play. The Titans, however, did not blink as they retook the lead and aggressively pulled away, outscoring the Tomcats 11-2 the rest of the game.
Also scoring in double-digits for the Titans was first-year
Katie Fitzpatrick (Cumberland Center, ME / Greely) with a career-high 12 points, while grabbing a career-high eight rebounds. Fitzpatrick also earned the highest plus-minus of the game with a +10. Junior
Magen Polczynski (Irwin, PA / Norwin) tied with Fitzpatrick for a team-high eight rebounds. Polczynski also scored nine points and dished out a game-high six assists, to go along with a game-best three steals.
The Titans dominated the glass with a 52-32 rebound advantage. Westminster also outshot Thiel, 40.6% (26-64) to 34.8% (23-66). The Titans outscored the Tomcats in the paint (36-20), second chance (14-5), and fast breaks (12-7).
Westminster is in back in action this Saturday at defending Presidents' Athletic Conference Champions Grove City (3-0). Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
