WEBSTER GROVES - On a night when the Webster University women's basketball team recognized their two graduating seniors, it was the play of junior Addison Beussink (Jackson, Mo./Saxony Lutheran) that stole the show as the 6-foot-1 forward scored a school record 35 points in the Gorloks impressive 96-49 win over Fontbonne University in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play at Grant Gymnasium.

Prior to the beginning of Saturday's game, the Gorloks honored their two graduating seniors - forward Darieana Hunter (Norman, Okla./Norman) and guard Kiara Rhines (Glendale, Ariz./Ironwood) - in a pregame ceremony. The Gorloks other senior, guard Naomi Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Greenville University), is expected to return for another season in 2021-22. 

With the victory, Webster improves to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the SLIAC, while Fontbonne fell to 3-5 overall and 3-5 in the league. Along with winning its seventh game of the season, Saturday's win also extended Webster's homecourt win streak to 15 consecutive games, which is currently tied for the fifth longest active streak in Division III and the Gorloks also won its seven consecutive game overall. 

Beussink was the star of the game on Saturday as he scored 24 of her career-high 35 points in the opening half to help give the Gorloks a 60-33 lead at the half. The 60 first half points were the most this season and just nine shy of the school record for points in a half. 

The 35 points by Beussink bettered the old school mark of 33, which was set four times in school history with the most recent occurrence coming by Danielle Tiller at Westminster on Jan. 9, 2007. The previous single game scoring record was first set in 2002 by Angie Carr at Rockford College, while Carr matched that mark as she scored 33 against Illinois Wesleyan in 2003 and Laura Robertson scored 33 points against Wartburg in 2005.

Beussink, who scored 16 of her 35 points in the first quarter to help Webster hold a 36-10 lead after the opening 10 minutes, set the scoring record on two made free throws with 3:33 left in the game. She tied the mark after making a lay-up nearly three minutes into the fourth quarter.

In addition to her 35 points, Beussink also pulled down 14 rebounds for her fourth double-double this season and 20th in her career and pushed her career scoring total to 841, which is 13th on the school's all-time chart. 

Sophomore forward Julie Baudendistel (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh) also scored in double figures in the win as she tallied 21 points, including scoring 14 of those points in the first half. Baudendistel and Beussink combined to score 48 first half points and that 15 more points than Fontbonne scored as a team.

Saturday's game was over in the opening 10 minutes as the Gorloks opened the game scoring the first 10 points with six of them coming from Beussink. The Griffins would finally score on a 3-pointer by Haley Buscher with 8:04 left in the quarter, but the Gorloks used an 11-2 run capped by a lay-up from Baudendistel with 5:09 left in the period. 

Fontbonne would then use a free throw from Jillian Venegas and two free throws by Rylee Stafford to drop WU's lead to 21-8, before Webster closed the quarter on a 15-2 run to hold a 33-10 lead after one quarter. Beussink and Baudendistel combined to score 10 of those 21 points. 

The Griffins would mount a mini-comeback in the second quarter thanks to the play of Stafford as the reigning SLIAC Player of the Year scored 16 of her team-high 22 points in the quarter to help Fontbonne score 23 points. Webster scored 24 points in the quarter, including Beussink and junior guard Hannah Cottrell (Steelville, Mo./Steelville) combining to score 15 of those 24 points. 

Webster opened the quarter on a 13-6 run to push its lead to 46-16 with 6:40 left in the quarter. The Griffins, though, used a 15-7 run to cut WU's lead to 53-31 with 1:21 left in the quarter. Stafford scored eight of those points for the Griffins as she tallied a total of 20 points in the first half.

Beussink and Cottrell would combine to score seven of the quarter's final nine points to take a 60-33 lead at the half. 

In the second half, Webster held Fontbonne to a total of 16 points as the Griffins scored nine points in the third quarter and had seven in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Webster scored 36 points after halftime, including pushing its lead to as much as 47 points following a lay-up from freshman forward Emily Ederer (Doniphan, Mo./Doniphan) with 45 seconds left in the game. Ederer's lay-up made the score 96-49. Ederer scored seven points and had six rebounds off the bench as Webster's bench outscored Fontbonne's bench, 26-4. 

For the game, Webster shot 48 percent from the field, but was just 3-for-14 (21 percent) from the 3-point line, while Fontbonne shot 37 percent from the field and 26 percent (8-for-31) from the 3-point line. 

The Gorloks held a 48-27 edge on the glass and dished out 30 assists on 38 made baskets as Johnson had a career high seven assists and Beussink had a career high six assists. 

Webster also forced Fontbonne into 30 turnovers that led 51 points, including forcing 17 turnovers and scoring 32 points off those turnovers in the first half. The Gorloks finished the night with a season low eight turnovers.

Both teams were strong at the free throw line as Fontbonne went 7-for-8 (88 percent) at the line, while Webster shot 74 percent (17-for-23) from the charity stripe. 

The Gorloks will look to win its eighth consecutive game as they close the home portion of its 2020-21 regular season schedule with a 5:30 p.m. SLIAC contest at Grant Gymnasium against Westminster (Mo.) College (9-2 overall, 7-1 SLIAC). The winner of that game will have the upper hand at winning the regular season league title. Webster earned a 73-59 win over the Blue Jays in Fulton, Mo., on March 6 and that loss is the lone one Westminster has had this season in SLIAC play.