CLAREMONT, Calif. – Webster University closed out the 2019 calendar year and its two-game West Coast road trip here Monday afternoon by suffering a disappointing 66-65 setback to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in non-conference Division III action at Voelkel Gymnasium on the Pomona-Pitzer campus. 

With the setback, Webster concludes the non-conference portion of its 2019-20 schedule with a 4-6 record, while Pomona-Pitzer, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, improved to 6-4 on the year. 

Along with Monday's game serving as the final contest of the 2019 calendar year, the game was also the final one for the Gorloks of the decade as Webster played 264 games in the 2010's and posted a 154-110 record, including posting a 60-29 record since the beginning of the 2016-17 season. 

Monday's game came down to the final possession as junior guard Naomi Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Greenville University) drove the ball into the lane and as she attempted a pass to a wide open sophomore forward Addison Beussink (Jackson, Mo./Saxony Lutheran), Pomona-Pitzer's Amara Chidom came up with the steal with about two seconds left in the game to seal the Sagehens win. 

Johnson's turnover, though, came 18 seconds after sophomore guard Lauryn Freeman (Fort Worth, Texas/Timber Creek) stole the ball from Madison Quan to give the Gorloks one last chance to win the game as they trailed by a point at 66-65. 

In fact, Webster rallied in the fourth period as they entered the period trailing 55-52, but they outscored PPC, 13-11 in the final period, including freshman forward Julie Baudendistel (St. Louis Mo./Lindbergh) and Johnson drill treys within 59 seconds of each other to cut Pomona-Pitzer's lead to 66-63 with 1:45 left in the game. Prior to Baudendistel's 3-pointer, the Gorloks trailed by six points at 63-57. 

On PP's ensuing possession, Beussink came up with a steal and on the trip down the court, senior guard Jaysea Morgan (Fisk, Mo./Twin Rivers) drew a foul on a lay-up attempt and hit two free throws to pull WU within a point at 66-65 with 44 seconds remaining. 

Johnson paced the way offensively for the Gorloks on Monday as she tallied 17 points, including going a perfect 4-for-4 from the 3-point line, while Beussink added 15 points, a career high five steals and four rebounds and Baudendistel chipped in with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Beussink has now scored in double figures in seven of eight games this season, while Baudendistel has reached double digits in scoring four times in her last five games. 

In addition to the three double figure scorers, the Gorloks also got a combined 17 points and nine rebounds from Morgan and Freeman as Morgan tallied eight points and five boards and pushed her career scoring total to 792 points, while Freeman tied her season high for the second straight game as she had nine points and pulled down four rebounds in the loss. 

Webster, who opened its two-day West Coast trip with a 74-59 loss on Saturday at Whittier College, struggled early in Monday's game as they trailed 7-3 just two-plus minutes into the game, but the Gorloks used a 9-2 run capped by three straight free throws from Freeman to take a 12-9 lead with 4:03 left in the opening period. After Carly Leong scored four straight points to give the Sagehens a 13-12 lead, the Gorloks used a 6-0 run to take an 18-13 lead following a lay-up by Freeman with 1:27 left in the period. Kamil English would hit a trey with 17 seconds left to give the Gorloks an 18-16 lead at the end of the first period. 

After trailing by as much as six points in the second period, the Gorloks used a 7-0 run over a span of nearly two minutes to take a 30-29 lead following a trey by Johnson. The Sagehens would score four of the period's final seven points to force a 33-all tie at the half.

In the third period, the two teams combined for 41 points as Pomona-Pitzer outscored the Gorloks, 22-19 to take a 55-52 lead into the final period. In the period, Webster scored the first four points to take a 37-33 lead, but PP used an 11-6 run to take a 44-43 lead with 5:05 left in the period. After Beussink hit a lay-up to give WU a 45-44 lead, the Sagehens responded with an 11-6 run to take a 55-49 lead with 58 seconds left in the frame. Johnson, though, would nail a trey with 39 seconds left to cap the scoring in the period. 

Leong, who was named the D3Hoops.com West Region Newcomer of the Year last season, paced the Sagehens on Monday with a team high 14 points off the bench, while Cameron Edward added 12 points and Chidom chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds. 

Webster finished the game shooting 42 percent from the field and 71 percent (5-for-7) from the 3-point line, but missed five free throws as they were 14-for-19 (74 percent) at the line, while Pomona-Pitzer shot 45 percent from the floor, 25 percent from long distance and was 12-for-17 (71 percent) from the free throw line. 

The Gorloks were outrebounded, 35-32, but they forced 19 turnovers that led to 18 points. Webster had 16 turnovers that led to 18 points for the Sagehens.

Webster also dished out 16 assists, including four from Baudendistel and three from Johnson. PP had 19 assists in the win. 

With non-conference play completed, the Gorloks will now solely focus on St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play the remainder of the regular season as they open the New Year on Saturday, Jan. 4 with a 1 p.m. contest against Fontbonne University at Grant Gymnasium.