The Webster University women's basketball team had a roller coaster ride that unfortunately was derailed in a loss, 77-72, in overtime to Westminster College, on November 29 in Fulton, MO.  The Gorloks engineered a 14-point second half comeback but a buzzer-beater three-pointer by the Blue Jays sent the game to OT where Webster fell.

Webster starts the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule 0-1, as every Gorlok with the last name of Lucas threw everything they had at Westminster.   Taylor Lucas (SR, Sullivan, MO/Sullivan) had 25 points, shooting 10-20 from the field, and Aley  Lucas (SR, Sullivan, MO/Sullivan) finished with 19 points, shooting 9-10 from the free throw line.

The Gorloks' comeback started when, down 44-30, Kelsey Miller (SR, Elizabeth, IN/South Central) hit a jumper at 7:27 in the third period, starting a 17-2 run.  Included in that run were an Aley Lucas basket and four free throws, and a Natalie Busscher (JR, Mundelein, IL/Mundelein) basket and one, and pair of free throws.  When the smoke cleared, Webster had a 47-46 lead entering the fourth period.  The Gorloks forced seven Blue Jays turnovers during their run.

Busscher hit another pair of free throws and a Taylor Lucas jumper at 5:52 kept Webster on top, 51-49.  Aley Lucas added two more free throws at 4:53 to make it a 53-49 Webster lead.  There were only two baskets by both teams combined in the first 5:00 of period.   The Blue Jays hit back to back baskets to tie it at 53-53 but an Aley Lucas layup and Jade Sawyer (SO, Republic, MO/Republic) basket plus one put Webster back on top 58-53.

After Westminster tied it again, Taylor Lucas gave Webster the lead again at 1:24 with another layup.  Westminster would call timeout after a Webster miss with 45 seconds remaining.   Westminster had two missed shots but two offensive rebounds to keep control of the ball.  Sawyer fouled at 0:22 and the Blue Jays made one as Webster led, 62-61.  Taylor Lucas hit two free throws at 0:14 to make it 65-61 and it looked as if the comeback was complete.

Westminster made a layup at 0:09 and had to foul.  A Taylor Lucas free throw at 0:04 made it 66-63, but the Blue Jays inbounded the ball up court and hit a long three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime at 66-66.  It was just the Blue Jays second three-pointer in regulation as they went 2-19 beyond the arc.
Westminster took an early lead on a pair of free throws and two lay ups to go up, 72-66 at 3:25.  Taylor Lucas had a layup and an Aley Lucas jumper made it a 74-70 deficit.  A Miller layup at 2:46 pulled Webster within two at 74-72 but a Blue Jay three-pointer at 1:36 sealed the deal as the final was 77-72.  Westminster committed only one turnover in the OT.

Things looked promising as the Gorloks forced four turnovers in the first 2:00 of the game but the Blue Jays kept their composure as the game was tied at 6-6 and Westminster would lead 12-7 at 6:13.  Westminster turned a 16-14 lead into a 24-16 advantage by the end of the period.   Westminster was 10-17 (58.8%) from the field for the period and continued that hot hand throughout.

The Gorloks opened the second period with baskets by Aley and Taylor Lucas, but Blue Jays came right with a pair of their own to lead 28-20.  A Taylor Lucas basket at 7:23 made it 28-22 and at this point the Lucas sisters had 15 of Webster's 22 points.  Westminster upped its lead to 32-22 with 5:46 left in half, and extended it to 38-24 at 3:23.  The Gorloks were able to cut the deficit to 10 at the half, 40-30.

Westminster shot 54.5% (18-33) for the half while Webster shot only 32.4% (11-34).  The Blue Jays had a huge 28-9 edge in rebounds, and an 11-1 advantage in steals for Webster and committing only four turnovers to Westminster's 14 was not enough.

Webster finished 24-68 (35.2%) from the field with Westminster finishing at 32-75 (42.7%).  The Gorloks forced a whopping 31 Blue Jay turnovers and had 22 steals.  In addition, Webster shot 24 of 28 free throws (85.7%), but Westminster's 62-26 advantage in rebounds was too much to overcome.  Webster  was 0-10 from the three-point line and Westminster was 3-22, but hit 'em when they counted.

Miller finished with nine points and a team-high six rebounds.

Webster is 2-2 overall.  The Gorloks were 11-5 and finished in third in the SLIAC in 2016-17.  Webster was picked third in SLIAC coaches pre-season poll. Westminster is 1-0 in the SLIAC and 4-2 overall.

The Gorloks host Finlandia University (MI) on December 5 at Grant, then Fontbonne University comes to visit on December 9.