BELLEVILLE, Ill. - Saturday's women's basketball contest in Webster Groves., Mo., between Webster University and Westminster (Mo.) College has been tabbed as this week's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Game of the Week. Tip-off for Saturday's SLIAC game is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Grant Gymnasium on the Webster University campus.
The game will feature a match-up between two teams that are currently sitting in a five-way tie for first place in the league standings heading into the second weekend of the 2020 calendar year. Webster, who picked up an 89-45 road win on Tuesday at Principia, is currently sporting a 4-1 league record, while Westminster is 3-1 heading into its home game Wednesday night with Blackburn. In addition to Westminster, Eureka, Fontbonne and Spalding are also 3-1 in the league play heading into Wednesday's action.
Webster comes into Saturday's game having won two straight games to push its overall record to .500 on the season at 6-6 as the Gorloks have opened the New Year with wins over Fontbonne (83-72) and at Principia (89-45). Meanwhile, Westminster, who hosts Blackburn on Wednesday, comes into this week's action sporting a 4-7 overall record as the Blue Jays have won just one of its last four games with that lone win being a 100-59 home win this past Saturday over Principia. Westminster's other wins in league play have come against Eureka (80-71) and Iowa Wesleyan (99-47), while its loss was at Greenville (81-58) to open league play on Dec. 4.
Saturday's match-up will be the first of two match-ups this season between the two schools as Webster will travel to Fulton, Mo., on Wednesday, Feb. 12 for a 5:30 game.
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At a Glance
This week's SLIAC Game of the Week pits two of the five teams currently tied for first place in the SLIAC women's basketball standings when Westminster College visits Webster University. The two teams are currently 3-1 against conference foes and are the top two shooting teams in the league. They will meet on Saturday in St. Louis, Missouri at 1 p.m.
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| Westminster College 'BLUE JAYS' |
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Westminster returned to conference play with a game against Principia to open the year last Saturday and will host Blackburn on Wednesday night before heading to Webster on Saturday.
The Blue Jays are averaging 73.0 points per game this season, the second-highest mark in the league. Their fast-paced offense gets off 68.5 shots per game, hitting on 39-percent, and average 8.0 three's per game.
Westminster has five players averaging double figures in scoring with Reese Arnold leading the way with 13.7 per game. Abbie Reece is their top inside player; averaging 12.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Kallee Dowler is their three-point threat, with 21 three's this season, while Rei Imamura leads the team with 35 assists.
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| Webster University 'GORLOKS' |
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Webster got back into conference play with a win over Fontbonne last Saturday and a road win on Tuesday at Principa. The Gorloks have now won four straight conference games since dropping their opener at home in overtime to Spalding (89-82).
The Gorloks are averaging 71.2 this season, which is 4th in the SLIAC, while shooting a league-leading 44-percent from the floor. They knock down just 4.7 three's per game, but do so at a SLIAC best 35-percent clip.
Sophomore forward Addison Beussink (Jackson, Mo./Saxony Lutheran) leads the team in both scoring (14.0 points per game) and rebounding (6.9) rebounds per game). Junior guard Naomi Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Greenville University) is an efficient scorer as well, averaging 11.8 points per game on 51-percent shooting from the floor and 42 percent shooting from the 3-point line. Sophomore guard Hannah Cottrell (Steelville, Mo./Steelville) brings energy at the guard position; averaging 8.3 points per game and ranking 2nd in the league in assists (38) and 5th in steals (23).
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| Series History |
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Webster leads the all-time series against Westminster 31-28 although Westminster won the last meeting (February 6, 2019); snapping a three-game Gorlok winning streak in the series.
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