MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa - Webster University scored at least 20 points in all four periods here Saturday afternoon en route to earning a 94-57 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball action against Iowa Wesleyan at Ruble Arena.
The 94 points were a season high for the Gorloks, who have now opened league play 2-0 for just the fourth time in the last nine seasons and first time since the 2016-17 squad also opened 2-0 in SLIAC play. Webster improved its season record to 4-1 overall and has now won five consecutive games against the Tigers.
Saturday's win came three days after the Gorloks opened SLIAC play with an 83-59 win at Fontbonne. In that win against the Griffins, Webster committed a season high 30 turnovers and forced 30 turnovers that led 29 points. In Saturday's win over the Tigers, WU recorded a season low 16 turnovers and forced IWU into 27 turnovers that led to 42 points as WU held a 42-2 edge in points off turnovers.
In the first half, Webster forced 15 IWU turnovers and scored 28 points off those turnovers as they took a 45-24 lead at the half.
Against the Tigers, 19 players saw action in the game and 15 of those 19 players scored at least two points in the game, including freshman forward Addison Buessink (Jackson, Mo./Saxony Lutheran) leading the way with 14 points and she added seven rebounds to snap her streak of double-doubles at three games. Beussink is the first Gorlok to record three consecutive double-doubles in a game since Courtney Pursley recorded double-doubles in four straight games two times during the 2013-14 season.
Beussink was one of four Gorloks that scored in double figures as sophomore guard
Naomi Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word Academy) added 12 points in her Webster debut, while freshman forward
Taylor Zarr (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) added 11 points off the bench. Johnson, who missed WU's first four games this season due to injury, is a transfer from Greenville University.
The other double-digit scorers on Saturday were junior guard
Jaysea Morgan (Fisk, Mo./Twin Rivers) and freshman guard
Caity Jones (West Plains, Mo./Thayer) each tallied 10 points. Zarr and Jones helped Webster's bench outscore IWU's bench, 50-15.
Webster, who scored the game's first two points on free throws by Beussink just 16 seconds into the game, used a 12-0 run over a span of three-plus minutes to turn a 6-4 lead into an 18-4 advantage. The run began with a lay-up by freshman guard
Hannah Cottrell (Steelville, Mo./Steelville) and was capped by a lay-up from freshman forward
Brylee Manes (Republic, Mo./Republic). After Darby Massner stopped the Gorloks run with a basket at 1:44 mark, Zarr would score on a lay-up with 35 seconds left in the period to give WU a 20-9 lead at the opening 10 minutes.
The Tigers would open the second period on a 13-4 run to move within two points at 24-22 with 5:09 left in the period. Webster, though, would answer by scoring 21 of the final 23 points in the period to take a 45-24 lead at the half. During the flurry, Webster went on an 11-0 run to go from up two at 24-22 to up 13 at 35-22 with 2:54 remaining in the period. In the period, Webster forced 11 turnovers and scored 19 of its 25 points in the period off those turnovers.
Jones and Beussink combined to score nine of WU's 20 points in the third period as the Gorloks led 65-37 heading into the final period. In the third period, Webster pushed its lead to as much at 29 points following a lay-up by Beussink with 6:15 left in the period. Beussink's lay-up gave the Gorloks a 55-26 lead.
That lead eventually reached 30 points in the period after a lay-up by Jones with 53 seconds left in the period to give WU a 65-35 lead, before IWU used two free throws from Harriet Fowler to cap the scoring in the period.
In the fourth period, Webster's lead would grow to as much as 41 following a lay-up by freshman guard Alyssa McByers (Leander, Texas/Leander) with 3:29 left in the game. McByers' lay-up made the score 86-45. The Tigers, though, would close the game by outscoring the Gorloks, 12-8 to set the final margin at 37. In the period, Webster outscored the Tigers, 29-20 as freshman guard
Amaya Baker (McDonough, Ga./Union Grove) and Jones combined for 11 points.
Massner and Fowler led the way offensively for the Tigers as they scored 15 points each, while Deericka Martin and Allie Massner each had 10 points in the loss.
Webster finished the game shooting 47 percent from the field and 31 percent from the 3-point line, while IWU shot 32 percent from the field and 36 percent (9-for-25) from long distance.
The Gorloks held a 50-26 edge on the glass, including a 19-4 edge in offensive boards.
Webster also had 20 steals, including four each from Johnson and Manes, while the Gorloks dished out 23 assists on its 40 made baskets. Cottrell had five assists, while Johnson and Baker each had three.
The Gorloks will look to win its third straight game this coming Wednesday, Dec. 5 as they host MacMurray for a 6 p.m. SLIAC at Grant Gymnasium.
