LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Westminster women's basketball team opened its five-game road trip to close 2016 with a 60-52 win at New Mexico Highlands on Friday night in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
 
Westminster (4-3, 2-1 RMAC) used 30 points from its bench players to overcome a pair of 9-point deficits for the road victory. The Griffins held New Mexico Highlands (2-5, 1-3) to 38.3 percent shooting and scored 16 points from 14 Cowgirls' turnovers.
 
"This is a great road win for us," Westminster head coach Shelley Jarrard said after the game. "Highlands really shot the ball well for the first three quarters so we had to defend and lock that down in the fourth."
 
Janessa Aukward sparked the Griffins bench effort with a team-high 16 points in only 22 minutes. She established her new career-high by hitting 6 of 10 shots, including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc.
 
"Janessa gave us a huge lift off the bench and showed she is very capable of knocking down the three," Jarrard added.
 
Highlands twice led by nine points in the first half, but the Griffins answered those deficits with separate runs of nine and 12 consecutive points. The Cowgirls led 37-32 with 7:48 to play in the third quarter when Westminster took the game over.
 
Riley Reidhead hit consecutive threes and then Aukward connected on one of her own to cap a 9-0 run by the Griffins. After NMHU went back up 46-44 with 3:05 left in the third, Aukward buried another three that sparked an 11-0 run that put the Griffins ahead for good.
 
During a 14-minute span in the second half, Westminster outscored the home team 26-11 by making 8 of 18 shots – with five triples – and limiting NMHU to 4 of 15 with four turnovers.
 
Westminster shot 44.9 percent for the game with nine make from beyond the arc. They had a 27-25 edge on the boards and recorded 13 assists and only 11 turnovers.
 
Reidhead added 14 points for the only other Griffin in double figures. Aubrie Vale finished with eight points, six assists, and four rebounds. Max Shelley scores even points off the bench.
 
"Max also gave us a big lift off the bench and I'm excited the she and Janessa have seemed to turn the corner in our system," said Jarrard. "They didn't just score tonight, but they defended well."
 
Shania Ratliff led three NMHU players in double figures with 13 points.
 
The Griffins will now travel to Pueblo, Colo., for a 5:30 p.m. MST game at No. 9/11 Colorado State – Pueblo on Saturday. The game can be seen live on the RMAC Network.