ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Webster University women's basketball team kicked off their 2022-23 season this evening when they played host to the Illinois College Lady Blues for a nonconference matchup. The Gorloks defeated the Lady Blues by a final score of 68-58 to improve to 1-0 on the season and extend their regular season unbeaten streak to 33 straight games.

The Gorloks went 25-for-70 (35.7%) from the floor and 6-for-20 (30.0%) from behind the arc. They were outrebounded by the Lady Blues by a final count of 52-44 and pulled down 14 offensive boards compared to 18 from Illinois College. The Gorloks forced the Lady Blues to turn the ball over 22 times in the game while turning those turnovers into 17 points on the other end of the floor. Webster also dished out 11 assists in the contest.

Webster came out in the first quarter of the game and jumped out to an early 14-4 lead. The Lady Blues cut the lead to eight, but the Gorloks extended their lead back out to 20-8 at the end of the quarter. They pushed their lead out to 14 to start the second, but a quick run from Illinois College cut the Gorloks lead to nine. Webster ended the half on an 8-4 run and took a 35-23 lead into the locker room.

Webster got off to slow start in the third quarter as the Lady Blues cut the Gorloks lead to one in the first five minutes of the period. Webster bounced back and answered with a 12-7 run in the final minutes of the quarter to take a 50-44 lead into the fourth. The Lady Blue quickly cut the lead back down to four, but another run from Webster put them up 13 late in the game. They were able to close out Illinois College down the stretch to solidify their first win of the season.

Julie Baudendistel led the way for Webster as she finished with a game high 24 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Bethany Lancaster also had a great season debut as she finished with 12 points, five blocks, and a team high 12 rebounds. In addition, Kate Rolfes finished with 12 points.

The women's basketball team will return to the court on Friday, November 11^th when they host the University of Dallas (Texas) in their first game of the 2022 Webster Tip-Off Classic. The game will tip-off at 8 p.m. in Grant Gymnasium.