SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster women's basketball team defeated MSU Denver, 55-45, to earn the team's first win as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference on Friday night in the Behnken Field House.
 
"I am really proud of the team to get this win," Westminster head coach Shelly Jarrard said after the game. "We defended well and beat a very good RMAC team."
 
Westminster (4-2, 1-1 RMAC) was able to overcome 22 turnovers by shooting 44.4 percent from the field and scoring 22 points in the paint. They held MSU Denver (2-6, 0-2) to 25.9 percent from the field and just 1 of 12 (8.3 percent) from beyond the arc. The Roadrunners made just four baskets in the second half and finished at 14.3 percent in the final 20 minutes.
 
"We took good threes tonight and that helped our percentage," Jarrard said of her team's 36.8 percent from beyond the arc.  
 
Natalie Parsons led three Griffins in double figures with 15 points on 6 of 13 shooting. Denise Gonzalez added 11 points, four rebounds, and seven assists. Jessica Sorensen had 10 points and nine rebounds while Mika Pinner had a career high 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.
 
After a close first quarter that finished with the visitors leads 16-13, the Griffins had a strong second quarter which saw them outscore the Roadrunners 11-8. Westminster scored the first eight points of the third quarter and would not trail again. They capped a 15-5 run with a three from Parsons at the 1:39 mark of the quarter.
 
MSU Denver would get within three with 8:26 to play when J'Nae Squires-Horton capped a 7-0 run with a three. Sorensen answered with four straight points for the Griffins followed by an Aubrie Vale bucket to push the lead to 45-36 with 5:25 remaining.
 
The Roadrunners didn't go away and when Horton sunk a pair of free throws with 3:00 on the clock, the visitors had another seven straight points and cut the deficit to 45-43. The Griffins would hold MSUD without a point the rest of the game and went 7 of 8 at the foul line to secure their first conference win.
 
Squires-Horton led MSU Denver with 14 points with Hannah Stipanovich scored nine.
 
The Griffins will return to the Behnken Field House on Saturday when they host UC Colorado Springs at 5:30 p.m. MT. Tickets for that game are available at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.