PORTLAND – The Westminster women's basketball team opened its weekend at the Concordia Classic by taking a 65-64 win over host Concordia (Ore.) for their first win of the season on Friday night.
 
Westminster (1-1) used 49.1 percent shooting and a 23-19 fourth quarter to overcome 23 turnovers. They held Concordia (2-1) to 39 percent shooting and had a 38-24 edge on the boards.
 
"Our schedule has been tough and I was hoping these games would make us tougher," Westminster head coach Shelley Jarrard said after the win. "Our defense and rebounding have greatly improved since last week."
 
The Cavaliers outscored the Griffins 19-10 in the third quarter to take a 45-42 lead to the final 10 minutes. Westminster started the final stanza with a 12-4 run that stared with threes by Sydnee Taylor and Sicilee Williams. When Denise Gonzalez scored in the paint with 4:18 to play they had matched their largest lead of the night at 61-53.
 
The lead was six after a Taylor jumper at the 1:57 mark before the home squad started their rally. Erin Higbie converted an and-one with 57 ticks remaining to trim the Griffins lead to one. After a Westminster turnover, Briannah Smith missed a jumper. The rebound went out of bounds with 0.1 seconds on the clock and the Cavaliers didn't have enough time for a final shot.
 
Taylor carried the offensive load for the Griffins with a game-high 25 points. She hit 10 of 15 shots and made five 3-pointers. Taylor also tied for the team lead with five rebounds and she had two assists.
 
"Sydnee had a great shooting night," Jarrard added. "When she is hitting from the outside she becomes a difficult matchup."
 
Riley Reidhead added eight points in the win. Williams led the team with four assists.
 
Higbie led Concordia with 12 points and Keesha Sarman added 10.
 
Westminster will complete their weekend in Oregon on Saturday when they face Saint Martin's at 3:00 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live with a link available at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.