Box Score BOX SCORE
SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster women's basketball team advanced to the second round of the Frontier Conference Tournament with a 75-54 win over Great Falls on Tuesday night in the Behnken Field House. No. 9 Westminster (25-5) won for the eighth consecutive time overall and the 11th straight time against Great Falls.
The Griffins struggled through the opening 20 minutes shooting just 31% from the floor and 25% from beyond the arc. Great Falls (5-24) took advantage and opened up a six points cushion with 6:55 remaining in the half. Westminster had drawn even with three minutes remaining, only to see UGF score seven of the final nine points of the half and carry a 31-26 lead into the break.
“You have to give Great Falls a ton of credit,” head coach JD Gustin said. “They came in and played their tails off, made shots, and made us pay for making bad decisions on defense.”
Westminster stormed out of the locker room, opening the second half on a 17-2 run and led 43-33 with 13:10 remaining. Great Falls would get back to within five at the 8:10 mark only to see the Griffins use a 24-6 run from there to seal the victory.
Westminster shot 58.6% in the second half to finish the contest at 44.8%. They also connected on seven three-pointers in the final stanza and had 10 in the game. The Griffins finished with 18 assists and only 12 turnovers while scoring 28 points in the paint and grabbing 33 rebounds. They held the visitors to 40.8% shooting and forced 23 turnovers which resulted in 32 Griffin points.
“It was tough to come off a huge emotional win like we had on Saturday,” Gustin commented. “I told the kids after the game that this is a huge win to bounce back this way.”
Dani Evans scored a career high 22 points with 20 coming after intermission. After shooting 1-of-6 in the first half, Evans responded with a 7-of-12 second half and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. She also matched a career high with 11 rebounds while adding four assists and five steals.
“She is doing what we have asked her to do,” Gustn said of his junior guard. “She is stepping up and we need her right now.”
McKenzie Jessop also had 22 points and five steals. She scored 15 points in the second half to go with two assists and two blocked shots.
Keshia Catten finished with 14 points and
Angela Fales set a career high with 12 points.
Nicole Yazzie shot just 1-of-6 but had eight assists and two steals.
Great Falls got 15 points from Kassie Holmlund. She also had six rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Kirilynn Winkler added 14 points off the bench to spark an 18-2 advantage for UGF in bench scoring.
Westminster will host a semi-final game on Saturday, March 6 at 7 p.m. in the Behnken Field House. The opponent will be the lowest remaining seed following tomorrow's action. Should the opponent be Rocky Mountain College, the game will be played on Friday, March 5 at 6 p.m. as part of a double-header with the men's team.
