SALT LAKE CITY--Westminster's women's basketball team snapped a three game losing streak at the right time, Tuesday night in the first round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament.  Number two seeded Westminster defeated the seventh seeded Mountaineers, 59-45, to advance to the semi-finals, hosted by Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction, Colo.

The fight for control of the scoreboard was tight in the first quarter.  Westminster's Sicilee Williams scored the opening bucket of the game.  Western took the lead by scoring the next to baskets and held Westminster at bay until the end of the quarter.  Westminster tied the game up twice and finally took the lead back with 2:10 remaining, on a Williams layup.

Western Colorado regained the lead early in the second quarter with a 9-4 run over six minutes.  During that run the Griffins gave up four turnovers, and went 3-7 from the field, made 1-2 from downtown and 2-2 from the charity stripe.  Williams hit a jumper after a Mountaineer turnover to make it a one-point game.  That basket got the ball rolling as the Griffins finished the quarter with a 12-1 run an eight-point halftime lead, 21-19.

With four minutes left in the third quarter, the Mountaineers came within four points.  Hunter Krebs scored seven of Westminster's nine final points in the quarter and all but ended the Mountaineers push to comeback.  

The Griffins extended their lead through the fourth quarter and led by as much as 17 points.  Sara Weixler scored the final basket for the Griffin win, 59-45.

Westminster went 1-11 from three but dominated in the paint outscoring the opponents 34-16.  They scored 20 points off of Western's 20 turnovers and held the Mountaineers to five points off turnovers.

Hunter Krebs led the team with 17 points.  She went 7-13 from the field and 3-3 from the stripe.  She led the team with four steals and three blocks.

Kaitlin Toluono had a big impact on the game with 12 points.  She was 4-8 form the field and hit the team's only three-pointer and finished 3-5 from the line.  She led the team with 12 rebounds to complete a double-double and also had four steals and two blocks.

Sicilee Williams went 4-5 from teh field and scored eight for the Griffins.  Williams, Olivia Ellis and Denise Gonzalez each grabbed five rebounds.

The Griffins will play Regis, sixth seed, in the semi-finals on Friday.