ST. LOUIS – Webster University concluded its four-game homestand here Thursday evening at Grant Gym by using a strong defensive effort and an efficient offense to post a 98-31 exhibition game victory over a junior varsity squad from Principia College.
 
On the night, 14 of the 17 Gorloks that saw action scored, including freshman forward Darieana Hunter (Norman, Okla./Norman) leading the way with a team-high 16 points, added nine rebounds and had three of WU's nine blocks. In addition to Hunter, two other reserves, freshman guard Jasmine Bishop (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) and sophomore guard Jaysea Morgan (Fisk, Mo./Twin Rivers) combined for 13 and 10 points respectively in the win. 

For the game, Webster's five starters played no more than 19 minutes each in the contest and combined for 33 points, including 27 of those points coming in a 51 point first half for the Gorloks.

Webster finished the contest shooting 54 percent from the field and 41 percent from the three-point line and outrebounded the Panthers, 44-22 and forced 31 turnovers that led to 44 points. In addiiton, WU's bench scored 64 points, while Principia's bench had just two points.

The Gorloks jumped out to a 19-2 lead and led 30-4 after the first period of action. In the period, all of Principia's points came from the free throw line as they were 4-for-4 at the line, but 0-for-8 from the field.

 
In the period, Webster forced 11 turnovers that led to 16 points.

Senior forward Aley Lucas (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan) had six of her eight points in the period. In fact, eight Gorloks scored at least two points in the opening 10 minutes.

The Panthers finally hit its first field goal of the game 40 seconds into the second period as Nikki Matters connected on a jumper and was fouled for a three-point play. Matters, who scored seven of her team's first nine points, finished the night scoring 17 of her team's 31 points. 

In the second period, Webster outscored Principia, 21-10 to take a 51-14 lead at the half. 

Principia opened the third period by scoring four of the first six points to drop WU's lead to 53-18, the Gorloks would close out the period by scoring 19 of the final 22 points to push out to a 72-21 lead heading into the final period. In the period, Hunter and senior forward Taylor Lucas (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan) combined to score eight of WU's 21 points. 

In the fourth period, Webster scored 26 points and pushed its lead to as much as 69 points following a trey from Bishop with 2:04 left in the game. Bishop's triple, one of nine hit by the Gorloks on the night, gave WU a 95-26 lead. 

Principia would close out the game scoring five of the final eight points to set the final margin.

Along with 17 points from Matter, no other Panther player scored more than four points on the night. 

Principia finished the game shooting just 24 percent from the field and was 0-for-9 from the 3-point line. 

Both teams were strong at the free throw line for the game as Webster shot 82 percent (9-for-11) and Principia shot 79 percent (11-for-14) at the charity stripe.
 
Webster will return to regular season action in less than 48 hours as they travel to Fontbonne for its annual 'Battle of Big Bend' on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tip-off for Saturday's contest is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Gorloks picked up a 79-60 win over the Griffins at home on Dec. 9.