Box Score Grabbing a 40-25 halftime lead, the Webster University women's basketball team held off a furious Eureka College (IL) comeback to post a 73-67 victory in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament semi-finals, on February 23.  The Gorloks advanced to the championship game on February 24 vs. host Westminster College.

You can view the championship game at  Collegecasts.com

Sixteen first half points by Maggie Zehner (SR, Oakville HS, MO), on 6 for 10 shooting, and 10 points by Gwen Williams (SR, Ft. Zumwalt West HS, MO) helped propel the Gorloks to the comfortable lead.  The Gorlok defense pressured Eureka into 10 first half turnovers, and the Red Devils wound up with 17 for the afternoon compared to Webster's seven.  The Gorloks maintained a 13-14 point lead in the early going of the second half, but the Red Devils ground away at the lead, pulling with seven, 68-61 with 11:30 left in the second.

Webster still held a seven-point lead with two minutes left in the contest, but a five-point Eureka burst left it down only 67-65 with one minute remaining.  Williams, Kaliann Rikard (JR, Cuba HS, MO), and Courtney Pursley (JR, St. Clair HS, MO) all hit a pair of free throws in that final minute to help Webster hang on for the win.

Zehner finished with 19 points for the game and three steals.  She moved into eighth on Webster's all-time high single season scoring list, with 396, just one point behind seventh (397-Katy Meyer, 2010-11).  Williams had 12 points and three steals, and Rikard had a team-high five asssits.  Pursley and Cassie Endicott (SO, Civic Memorial HS, IL) helped pick up the scoring for Webster in the second half with Purslely winding up with 11 and Endicott with 10.  Pursley led Webster with eight rebounds and Endicott had three blocks for the game.

After the game it was announced that Zehner was a SLIAC 2013 All-Conference First Team selection.  Joining her on the team was Pursley, who was All-Conference Honorable Mention.  Zehner and Williams were chosen for the 2012 All-Defensive Team and Alyssa Sapp (FR, Southern Boone HS, MO) was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team.  This is Zehner's fourth year as All-Conference, and the first time as a First Team selection.

The Gorloks are 15-11 overall on the season and will play at 2:00 p.m. on February 24 vs Westminster.  The Blue Jays advanced to the championship with a 77-70 win over Spalding University in the other semi-final.  The winner of the SLIAC Championship advances to the NCAA III Championships.