GREENVILLE, Ill. – This evening the Webster University women's basketball team was back in action when they traveled across the river to Greenville, Illinois, to take on the Greenville (Ill.) University Panthers for a SLIAC matchup. The Gorloks, who came into this game on a 13 game winnings streak, were able to stay unbeaten on the season as they defeated the Panthers by a final score of 80-68 to improve to 14-0 on the year and 5-0 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 8-8 on the year and 2-4 in the SLIAC.
Webster went 32-for-71 (45.1%) from the floor and 4-for-15 (26.7%) from behind the arc. They grabbed 39 rebounds in the contest and forced the Panthers to turn the ball over 24 times. They turned those 24 turnovers into 27 points on the offensive end of the floor. Webster also dished out 19 assists in the game.
Webster came out in the first quarter of the game and exchanged baskets with the Panthers to start. The game remained close as the period progressed but with the score tied at 21 the Panthers hit a three at the buzzer to take a 24-21 lead into the second. The Panthers continued to push the tempo to start the second and were able to grow their lead to as many as eight in the frame. Webster battled back and cut the lead to one, but another three-pointer to end the quarter from the Panthers put them up 42-38 at the break.
The Gorloks came out in the second half and quickly tied the score at 42 in the first two minutes of the period. They continued to push the tempo as the quarter progressed and were able to grow their lead to as many as six before taking a 56-52 lead into the fourth. Webster pushed their lead out to double digits in the first few minutes of the fourth and held off the Panthers down the stretch to solidify their 14
th win of the season.
Addison Beussink led the way for the Gorloks as she finished with a game high 29 points. Her 29 points puts her career total at 1,223 which moves her past Maggie Zehner for 3
rd all-time in Webster women's basketball history. In addition to Beussink,
Naomi Johnson added 13 points,
Hannah Cottrell dished out a game high six assists,
Julie Baudendistel brought down seven rebounds, and
Lauryn Freeman also grabbed seven rebounds to round out the top performers for the Gorloks.
The Gorloks return to the court on Saturday, January 29
th when they play host to the Fontbonne (Mo.) University Griffins for a SLIAC matchup. This game will serve as Senior Day and prior to the start of the contest we will honor the five seniors on the team for their hard work and dedication to the program. This will also serve as our Coaches vs. Cancer game and our Student Athlete Advisory Committee will be accepting donations at the door as well as putting on a 50/50 raffle. The game is set to tip-off at 1 p.m. in Grant Gymnasium.
