LATROBE, Pa. – The fourth-seeded Westminster women's basketball team lost, 72-55, at No. 1 seed Saint Vincent in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Semifinals Wednesday night.
Titan senior
Ashley Russell (Belle Vernon, PA / Belle Vernon) shined in her last collegiate game as she led the team with a career-high 17 points, including three threes, to go along with a team- and career-high four steals and tied a team-high with three assists. Three other Titans scored in double-digits in junior
Magen Polczynski (Irwin, PA / Norwin) with 14 and junior
Megan Meyer (New Galilee, PA / Mohawk) and sophomore
Natalie Murrio (Pittsburgh, PA / Brentwood) with 11 points each. Sophomore
Lindsay Bell (Youngstown, OH / Ursuline) led Westminster on the glass with six rebounds and had a game-high two blocks. Meyer and Murrio each added five rebounds. Meyer also made a career-high three three-pointers.
Westminster (6-5), playing in its second-straight PAC Semifinals, led the majority of the first quarter with its largest lead of seven three times, with the last one coming with 52 seconds remaining when Russell made a pair of fast break-free throws and Westminster led 18-11. Saint Vincent (9-0) took its first lead, since the opening minute of the game, at 24-22 with 6:30 to play in the first half. The Bearcats did not trail for the remainder of the frame and led 36-28 at halftime.
The Titans came out in the second half on a mission with a 13-0 run, capped off with a fast break-layup by Russell, to take a 41-36 lead with 6:13 on the clock. The Bearcats, however, responded with a 17-0 run and led 53-46 going into the final frame. In the fourth, a three-pointer by Russell cut Saint Vincent's lead to 57-52 with seven minutes to play, however, that would be the closest the Titans would get for the rest of the game as the Bearcats closed out the contest, outscoring Westminster 15-3.
Westminster's trip to the PAC Semifinals marked the first time the Titans have advanced to the Semifinals in consecutive years in 14 years (2007-08 season).
