MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa - Three days after earning a share of St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season title after its win over Eureka College, Webster University Women's Basketball won the title outright with its 85-72 victory over Iowa Wesleyan in the regular season finale for both teams at Ruble Arena, 

With the victory, Webster improves to 18-7 overall and finishes league play with a 16-2 record, while Iowa Wesleyan closed the year with a 5-20 overall record and a 5-13 mark in the league play. The win also was Webster's fifth straight on the season and its 14th in its last 15 games since the beginning of the 2020 calendar year. 

The regular season title for the Gorloks was just the second for the program in school history and the first since 2002 when Webster went 14-0 in league play and posted a 25-3 record and advanced to the NCAA Division III Sweet 16. 

In Saturday's game. Webster scored 20-plus points in the first three periods to hold a 75-51 lead heading into the the fourth period. The Tigers, though, mounted a rally in the final period as they outscored the Gorloks, 21-10, to set the final margin. 

Saturday's win was keyed by a combined 43 points from sophomore forward Addison Beussink (Jackson, Mo./Saxony Lutheran) and senior guard Jaysea Morgan (Fisk, Mo./Twin Rivers) as Beussink led the way offensively for the Gorloks as she tied a career high with 23 points and added eight rebounds, while Morgan added 20 points and five boards. 

In addition to the two 20-plus point scorers, sophomore guard Hannah Cottrell (Steelville, Mo./Steelville) added 16 points in the win for the Gorloks. 

The Gorloks, who have now won eight straight games over the Tigers, jumped out to a 19-2 lead in the opening five-plus minutes of the game as Beussink and Morgan combined to score 12 of those 19 points. 

IWU, though, would respond with a 10-2 run to pull within 21-12 with 1:32 left in the period, but the Gorloks would close the period by scoring seven straight points to hold a 28-12 lead after the first 10 minutes. 

In the second period, Webster shot 47 percent from the field and scored 21 points, but IWU was able to score 17 points in the period as 12 of those 17 points came at the free throw line as the Gorloks were whistled for 10 fouls that led 14 free throws for the Tigers. The 21 point second period helped the Gorloks to take a 49-29 lead at the half. 

The Gorloks would come out energized the start the third period as they expanded their halftime lead to as much as 31 points following a lay-up from junior guard Kiara Rhines (Glendale, Ariz./Ironwood) with 70-39 left in the period. Rhines' lay-up made the score 70-39. The 31 point lead was the largest of the game for the Gorloks. 

Following Webster's run, IWU would respond by closing the period on a 12-5 run to cut Webster's lead to 75-51 heading into the fourth period. 

Webster would score four of the first six points in the fourth period to push its lead back out to 26 points at 79-53, but the Tigers would answer by scoring 19 of the final 25 points in the game, including scoring the game's final eight points to cap the scoring. 

Morgan McCrea paced IWU offensively as she tallied 20 points, including scoring 11 of those points after halftime. In addition to McCrea, Maddie Williamson added 15 points, while Harriet Fowler and Allie Massner each had 11 points in the loss. 

Webster finished the game shooting 49 percent from the field, but was just 1-for-8 (13 percent) from the 3-point line and shot 74 percent (12-for-19) from the free throw line. 

Defensively, Webster held the Tigers to 40 percent shooting from the field and 26 percent shooting from the 3-point line and was 21-for-25 (84 percent) from the free throw line. 

The Gorloks held a 43-29 edge on the glass as along with Beussink's eight boards, sophomore guard Lauryn Freeman (Fort Worth, Texas/Timber Creek) and sophomore forward Courtney Ragland (New Athens, Ill./New Athens) each pulled down six boards in the win. 

Webster dished out 21 assists on 35 made baskets and Freeman dished out a career high 11 assists. 

Both teams struggled to take care of the basketball as their were a combined 44 turnovers in the game as Webster had 21 turnovers and IWU had 23 that led to 29 points for the Gorloks. The Tigers scored 22 points off of Webster's 21 miscues. 

With the regular season complete, the Gorloks will now turn its attention to the postseason as Webster will host the SLIAC Tournament next weekend at Grant Gymnasium. The Gorloks, who are the No. 1 seed in the tournament, will open the championship event on Friday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. agsainst No. 4 seeded Greenville (16-9 overall, 13-5 SLIAC). The Gorloks swept the season series this year from the Panthers as they won 80-60 at Greenville on Dec. 9 and picked up a 94-77 win in Grant Gymnasium on Jan. 29. The other semifinal game on Friday will feature No. 2 seeded Fontbonne (16-9 overall, 15-3 SLIAC) meeting No. 3 seeded Spalding (15-10 overall, 13-5 SLIAC) at 5:30 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. The winner of the SLIAC Tournament earns the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament.