SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster women's basketball team opened Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play with a 55-45 win over Western State Colorado on Friday night in the Benhken Field House.
 
Westminster (3-2, 1-0 RMAC) shot just 33.3 percent from the field on the night, but went 13 of 14 at the foul line. They limited Western State (1-5, 0-2) to 35.8 percent shooting and held the visitors to 4 of 17 from beyond the arc.
 
"We struggled scoring tonight," Westminster head coach Shelley Jarrard said after the game. "We weren't being aggressive in the first half and it allowed them to play with us."
 
Trailing 14-11 early in the second quarter, the Griffins mounted a 10-0 run that featured five points from Riley Reidhead to take a 21-14 lead. They held that lead until the 9:47 mark of the third quarter when Brianna Wilber scored in the paint to tie the game at 26-26.
 
Westminster answered with seven straight points to retake a lead that they never relinquished. After the Mountaineers trimmed the deficit to 38-37 with 2:24 in the third quarter, the Griffins answered with 13 of the game's next 15 points to spark a game-winning 17-8 burst over the final 12:21 of play.
 
Reidhead led the Griffins on the night with 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting. She hit a pair of threes and grabbed three rebounds and two assists. Sydnee Taylor added 11 points with three triples.
 
Denise Gonzalez and Aubrie Vale tallied four steals apiece for the Griffins. Gonzalez led the team's free throw effort with a perfect 6 for 6 outing.
 
Westminster forced 17 turnovers and converted them into 17 points. They had a 38-33 edge on the boards and scored 12 points from 14 offensive rebounds. The Griffins committed 14 turnovers that resulted in 20 points for the Mountaineers.
 
"We missed some shots around the rim and that was tough," Jarrard added. "We got 14 offensive rebounds and need to see more of that going forward."
 
Brianna Wilber led WSCU with 11 points and Harlie Williams finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Griffins will play their final home game of the 2016 calendar year on Saturday when they host Colorado Mesa at 5:30 p.m. MST in the Behnken Field House. Tickets for the game are available at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.