Box Score BOX SCORE

SALT LAKE CITY – It took an extra five minutes but, the 11th-ranked Westminster women's basketball team defeated Great Falls 93-88 on Thursday night the in the Behnken Field House. It was the first overtime game of the season for Westminster and a fifth consecutive victory.

With the victory Westminster improves to 18-4 on the year with a 5-1 mark in the Frontier Conference. Great Falls drops to 9-12 and 2-4.

“I thought Great Falls was just terrific,” head coach JD Gustin said. “We took their best shot tonight and still found a way to win.”

After leading just 49-47 at the intermission, Westminster appeared to take control of the game with a 9-0 run over the first five minutes of the second half. After Great Falls got within 67-65 at the 9:01 mark, Westminster used an 8-0 spurt to build a 10-point cushion at the 5:44 mark. UGF wouldn't go away however and when Sarah Sciascia hit two free throws with 17.7 second remaining the game was tied at 80-80 and heading to overtime.

Great Falls twice hold a lead in the extra session before a Michelle Pace layup followed by a Nicole Yazzie three put the Griffins ahead for good. Pace hit two free throws and Dani Evans made one to seal the Westminster victory.

“We just made some plays in the overtime,” Gustin said of the extra session.

Westminster was red hot shooting all night, finishing at 50.8% from the floor. They shot 61.3% in the first half and also went 4-of-5 in the overtime period. The Griffins were also dialed in from beyond the arc connecting on 15 triples on 25 attempts. The 60% 3-point shooting is the highest of the season. The team also posted a season-high 30 assists and 33 made field goals with 19 turnovers.

Pace finished with a team-high 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The senior forward also went 8-of-9 at the foul line with four blocks and two assists. Evans added 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Evans made a team-leading four threes and also had one block shot. Yazzie had 14 points and seven assists while Dana Bates posted her first career double-double with career highs in points, 13, and rebounds, 10. Jenteal Jackson had eight assists.

Jamie Young led all scorers with 31 points for UGF. Young scored 24 points before halftime and finished 11-of-18 from the field. Sciascia finished with 24 points and four made threes.

Westminster now sits atop the Frontier Conference standings as they head into a Saturday showdown with Montana State-Northern in the Behnken Field House. The action is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.