Box Score BOX SCORE
SALT LAKE CITY – It wasn't easy, but the Westminster women's basketball team won its 20th consecutive Frontier Conference regular season game behind a 91-69 win against Rocky Mountain on Saturday night in the Behnken Field House.
No. 14 Westminster (17-4, 6-0) overcame just 30.8% shooting and nine turnovers in the opening half and carried a 36-29 advantage into the intermission. The lead was just five with 18:29 remaining before a 19-8 run over the next five minutes pushed the lead to 58-42. After Rocky (5-13, 3-2) got back within 12, the Griffins went on a 21-6 run to build an 81-54 lead and put the game away.
“We are thankful that we won,” head coach JD Gustin said after the game. “Give Rocky a lot of credit, I was really impressed with how hard they played and their overall effort.”
Westminster rebounded in the second half and finished the game shooting 43.7% from the field. Westminster controlled the glass al night and finished with a 49-40 advantage in total rebounds. The Griffins turned 18 offensive rebounds into 13 second chance points and had 40 points in the paint.
“We knew they were going to play zone,” Gustin said of the Rocky defense. “We felt if we missed we would be able to attack the offensive glass and we did that tonight.”
Defensively Westminster forced 23 turnovers and turned those into 28 points and 16 fast break points. They overcame their 21 turnovers by holding Rocky to just eight points off those 21 opportunities. Rocky shot just 36.5% from the floor and went 6-of-25 from beyond the arc.
Keshia Catten led five Griffins in double figures with 20 points. She recorded the first double-double of her career as she added 11 assists plus five rebounds, four steals, and one blocked shot.
Dani Evans recorded 14 points in her second consecutive start.
Olivia Pierce-Eiselein led a Westminster bench attack with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Candace Smith finished with 10 points as did
Allie Eastman.
Adrienne Green led three Rocky players in double figures with 16 points. Molly Schenderline had 13 points and seven rebounds while Tana Stewart finished with 10 points. Rocky recorded 17 assists and 23 field goals and had 10 steals.
Westminster now travels to Lewiston, Idaho to take on Lewis-Clark State College on Saturday, January 30. The battle for first place in the conference will tipoff at 7:00 p.m. (MT) from the Lewiston Activity Center.
