Box Score JACKSON, Tenn. – The eighth-ranked Westminster women's basketball team saw its season come to an end nd Saturday evening. Defending national champion Union (Tenn.) moved one step closer to a three-peat as the Lady Bulldogs toppled Westminster, 78-61, in the quarterfinals of the 2011 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship Saturday in Oman Arena.

Westminster had its best showing at the National Championship by advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in five appearances. The Griffins showing in Jackson gives them a .500 record at 5-5 all-time. They conclude their season with a mark of 28-6.

Union and Westminster battled over the first seven minutes of the game with the Lady Bulldogs holding an 18-9 lead. A Kayla Hudson 3-pointer put them up 21-9 and was the base for building a 24-point lead in the first half. She was nearly unstoppable, hitting her first seven shot attempts, including four from downtown. The senior recorded 19 of her 27 total points in the opening stanza.

Hudson's hot shooting was contagious as Union went 17-of-27 (.630) in the half, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc. In comparison, Westminster was 33 percent and hit just two of its 12 3-point attempts.

The Lady Bulldogs pushed their lead to as many as 25 points in the second half as Lavanda Ross hit a pair of free throws for a 52-28 lead. Westminster wasn't going down without a fight. The Griffins worked to cut the lead to 13 points with Michelle Pace hitting the front end of a double bonus, putting the game at 72-59. That would be all the closer they would get though, as Union pushed its lead back to 17 to end the game.

Hudson led all scorers with 27 points on a 10-of-14 showing from the floor and nailed four of her seven looks from behind the 3-point line. She was also 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. Joining her in double figures was Zeinab Chan with 16 points, connecting on seven of her 15 shot attempts. Ross nabbed 10 of the Lady Bulldogs 46 rebounds. Union finished the game shooting 47 percent from the floor and from long range.

The sophomore tandem of Brooke Larsen and Nicole Yazzie controlled the Westminster offense, pouring in 17 points each. They received little support, as the next highest scorers had just six points. The Griffins shot 38 percent from the field, but just 24 percent from 3-point range, after averaging 35 percent prior to playing in Jackson.