PUEBLO, Colo. – Westminster women's basketball traveled to Pueblo, Colorado, for the Al Kaly Shrine Classic, hosted by CSU-Pueblo.  The Griffins (1-1) earned their first win of the 2017-18 season against the Davenport University Panthers (1-3).
 
The first quarter ended 12-7, in favor of the Griffins, after both teams got off to a slow start and struggled to score.  Kaylee Carlsen and Kylie Hale each hit a 3-pointer.
 
The scoring opened up in the second quarter.  Hunter Krebs scored three baskets for six points and Hillary Weixler scored a pair of baskets for four points.  The Griffins headed to the locker room with a seven-point lead over the Panthers, 26-17.
 
The Griffins shot 60.0 from the field, 40.0 from behind the arc and 33.3 from the line, while Davenport was only 25.0 from the field, zero for six from behind the arc and 66.7 from the line.  The Griffins scored 11 points off of the seven Davenport turnovers and the Westminster bench outscored their opponent 12 to three.
 
Davenport hit four 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the third quarter to get back into the game and within three poins of the Griffins,34-31.  Westminster ended the quarter up by severn, 46-37, after the lead changed hands five times in the quarter.
 
The Griffins opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer from Carlsen.  The Panthers scored the next 10 points to bring the game within 2, 49-47, with 4:47 remaining.  The game was close for the final half of the quarter as the Griffins held on to the lead, without surrendering it, and winning the game by seven, 62-55.
 
Carlsen led the team with 17 points and Krebs provided 14 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.  The team ended the game shooting 23 of 51 from the field, 6 of 17 from behind the arc and 10 of 18 from the line.  Players from the bench provided 30 of the team's points.

"Our bench was outstanding," Head Coach Shelley Jarrard responded when asked what was the difference in the game. "Our defense was great.  We scraped and battled, and were able to get to the free-throw line or get put backs when we missed."
 
Westminster plays Northern State University tomorrow at 2 p.m. CST.  The game will be available through live stats and a live feed provided through CSU-Pueblo.  You can also access the links at on the women's basketball schedule.