WEBSTER GROVES – Webster University returned home to Grant Gymnasium here Thursday evening and got down 10-0 to open the game and trailed by as much as 15 points just eight minutes into the game before outscoring Spalding University 84-56 over the final 32 minutes to post an 91-78 win in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action.
 
 With the victory, Webster extends its win streak to a season-high five games and improves to 16-5 overall and 10-3 in the SLIAC, while Spalding falls to 9-13 overall and 7-7 in the league.
 
Thursday's win also moved Webster into a tie for second place in the league standings with Eureka. Greenville, who the Gorloks face next Saturday to close out the regular season, sits atop the league standings with a 13-1 mark.
 
Senior forward Aley Lucas (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan) was one of four Gorloks that finished in double figures as she tallied 17 points, including scoring 13 of them in the second half. In addition to Lucas, sophomore guards Jade Sawyer (Republic, Mo./Republic) and Jaysea Morgan (Fisk, Mo./Twin Rivers) each tallied 16 points and freshman guard Kylie Shoot (Ashland, Mo./Southern Boone) had 12 points on the night.
 
After opening the game by missing 11 of its first 13 shots, the Gorloks closed the game making 24 of its final 43 field goal attempts (55.8 percent) and finished the game shooting 46 percent from the floor and 53 percent from the 3-point line.
 
While WU shot 46 percent from the floor and 53 percent from long distance, Spalding shot 48 percent from field and 44 percent from long distance. The Golden Eagles shot 50 percent from both the field and 3-point line in the first half.
 
Spalding scored the game's first 10 points and held the Gorloks scoreless for a little over five minutes before Morgan drilled a 3-pointer with 4:46 left in the opening half. Prior to Morgan's made trey, the Gorloks had missed their first 10 shots.
 
In fact, Webster missed 11 of its first 13 shots, while the Golden Eagles made eight of their first 10 shots, including going 4-for-5 from long distance to pull out to a 22-8 lead with two minutes left in the opening period following basket by Lelanda Matthews.  
 
The Gorloks, though, woke up as they closed the first period on an 8-0 run to pull within 22-16 at the close of the period. Webster made three of its final five shots to close out the first period.
 
In the period, Spalding shot 67 percent from the field and 80 percent from long distance, while Webster shot 22 percent from the floor and 20 percent from the 3-point line.
 
WU opened the second period on a 13-5 run to take a 29-27 lead following a trey from the corner by senior guard Kelsey Miller (Elizabeth, Ind./Maryville University) with 6:19 left in the period. Miler's trey gave the Gorloks its first lead of the game.  
 
Following Miller's trey, Spalding retook the lead following a 3-pointer from Micah Bowden with 4:26 left in the period. Bowden's trey gave Spalding a 30-29 lead.
 
The Gorloks, though, would respond with a 7-2 scoring spurt keyed by a 3-pointer from Shoot to push out to a 36-32 lead with 3:11 remaining in the first half. After a jumper from Bowden dropped WU's lead to 36-34, the Gorloks would close the first half by scoring nine of the final 10 points to take a 45-35 edge at the intermission.
 
WU finished the first half connecting on 10 of its final 19 shots, including hitting all four of its three-point attempts in the second period.
 
The Gorloks scored five of the first six points in the third period to push its lead to 50-36, before Spalding answered with a 9-2 run to drop WU's lead to 52-45 with 5:03 left in the period.
 
WU, though, would respond by closing the period on a 17-11 run to take a 69-56 lead heading into the final period. The Gorloks run was keyed by four points each from Lucas and Morgan. The big shot during the run was a trey by Sawyer with 1:15 remaining in the period to give WU a 14-point lead at 67-53.
 
After Spalding opened the fourth period with a trey by Allison Just that cut the Gorloks lead to 10 at 69-59, Webster would use an 8-4 spurt to push its lead back out to 14 points at 77-63 with 6:10 left in the contest.
 
The Gorloks wouldn't be able to shake off the Golden Eagles as they responded to WU's run with a 14-9 run to pull within 86-77 following a basket by Just with 1:42 left. WU would then hit three of four free throws and use a basket by Sawyer with 31 seconds left to complete the scoring.
 
Alex Martin led the way for Spalding as she tallied a game-high 27 points and added five boards and six assists. Martin, who is the reigning SLIAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week, came into the game averaging 13.1 points per game and has scored 20-plus points in her last two contests.
 
In addition to Martin, Bowden, Matthews and Megan Going each tallied nine points in the loss.
 
Webster's defense continued to play havoc as they forced Spalding into 24 turnovers that led to 28 points. In the first half, Spalding committed 16 turnovers that led to 20 Gorlok points. WU had 14 turnovers for the game.
 
Spalding held a 35-31 edge the glass, while the Gorlok had 19 assists on 26 made baskets. Senior forward Taylor Lucas (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan) and senior guard Ebony Bailey (Dolton, Ill./John Wood CC) each had five in the win.  
 
The Gorloks will have little time to enjoy Thursday's game as they close out the home portion of its 2017-18 schedule with a 1 p.m. game against MacMurray. Prior to Saturday's game, the Gorloks will honor its eight member senior class.