Box Score BOX SCORE

SALT LAKE CITY – The 10th-ranked Westminster women's basketball team defeated Warner Pacific 68-54 to finish 2-0 at the Westminster Tipoff Classic presented by Sports Med Utah on Saturday night. Westminster took control in the second half to cruise to a third consecutive victory. They are now 4-1 on the season while Warner Pacific drops to 1-1.

“We are a work in progress,” head coach JD Gustin said. “We have some new kids but we found a way to win another one.”

For the second straight day Westminster started the game strong before watching the lead disappear. Today they led 16-7 with 14:40 remaining in the first half before WPC stormed back to eventually take a 29-27 lead with 2:16 to play. Westminster would then get a Dani Evans three and a free throw from Jenteal Jackson to lead 31-29 at the intermission.

A 6-0 run midway through the second half turned a 38-35 lead into a 46-37 advantage for the Griffins. Brooke Larsen started the push with a three-point play and then capped the run with a triple from the top of the key. Westminster would eventually push the cushion to 15 late in the half.

“We just switched everything,” Gustin said of the team's second half defense. “We made a nice adjustment and got into them a little bit.”

Westminster shot 46.2% from the field in the second half while holding Warner Pacific to just 28.6% shooting. The Griffins finished at 48.9% in the game including 45.8% from beyond the arc. They made 11 treys in the game with eight coming in the first half on 61.5% shooting. Defensively they force 20 turnovers and turned those into 16 points. The team also posted 18 assists and only 15 turnovers.

“We are pretty happy with a positive assist to turnover ratio tonight,” Gustin commented. “We are also trying hard to be a good rebounding team.”

Evans led the Griffins with 23 points while matching her career high with five makes from beyond the arc. The senior guard was 8 of 11 shooting with two rebounds, one assist and one steal. Michelle Pace added 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Nicole Yazzie had eight points and five assists. Larsen scored eight points off the bench.

Kelsey Mattsen led the Knights with 20 points and five rebounds. Warner Pacific finished shooting 42.5% from the field, sparked by 57.9% shooting in the first half. Miranda Holenstein had 12 points and three boards.

Westminster will be back in action on Thursday, November 11 when they host Cal Baptist in the first game of the Westminster Fall Classic. Tipoff of the Griffin tournament opener is slated for 4 p.m. in the Behnken Field House.