The Webster University women's basketball team lost to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, 56-49, on December 31 in Claremont, CA.  The Gorloks shooting wasn't quite in the deep freeze St. Louis is in, but a cold shooting day from the field and the Athenas advantage on the boards contributed to their loss. 

The Gorloks and Athenas were tied early in the first at 8-8, after a minute and a half of play, but the scoring pace fell way off for the duration of the period.  Webster was outscored 9-2 the rest of the way. Claremont took a 10-8 lead at 5:40 and after a scoreless three minutes the Athenas hit a free throw at 2:19, and went on to lead, 17-10.  

The Webster offense came alive in the second period as they started on a 10-0 run to take a 20-17 lead.  Claremont battled with an 11-4 run to wrestle back the lead at 28-24 and the Gorloks wound up trailing at the half, 32-29.

After a low-scoring third period, with Webster outscoring Claremont 9-6, the teams were tied at 38-38.  A Megan Brandt (SR, Sullivan, MO/Sullivan) three-pointer to open the fourth gave Webster a 41-38 lead.  The Athenas pulled back ahead at 44-43 at 6:07, but an Aley Lucas (SR, Sullivan, MO/Sullivan) layup put the Gorloks back on top.  The teams exchanged leads with the scored tied, 49-49, at 2:36 after a pair of Kelsey Miller (SR, Elizabeth, IN/South Central) free throws. 

But those would be the final points for the Gorloks as the Athenas scored the game's last seven points for the 56-49 final.  Webster wound up shooting 33% (18-54) from the field compared to Claremont's 45.2% (19-42) for the game, and the Athenas had a 36-26 edge on the boards as well.  Claremont had the advantage in points in the paint (26-18) as well with the rarity of having the edge in points off turnovers (18-15) against Webster.

Taylor Lucas (SR, Sullivan, MO/Sullivan) had a team-high 12 points.  Miller and Brandt each had 10 points for the Gorloks, and Aley Lucas had a team-high seven rebounds.

Webster is 7-4 overall and winds up 6-2 in non-conference play for the regular season.  Claremont-Mudd-Scripps improved to 9-2 on the year.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, is made up of student athletes from Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd and Scripps Colleges.  These three schools are part of a consortium of seven colleges in Claremont, CA.

The Gorloks resume play in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on January 3 as they host Iowa Wesleyan University at Grant Gym.