MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Webster University women's basketball team took the court this evening for the first round of the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Tournament. The Gorloks fell to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) by a final score of 79-76 to end their season with a 25-1 overall record. The Cru will advance to the second round of the tournament and will face the winner of the second game of the day between East Texas Baptist University and Rhodes (Tenn.) College.

­­The Gorloks went 23-for-58 (39.7%) from the floor and 4-for-8 (50.0%) from behind the arc. They were outrebounded 46-36 and pulled down 15 offensive rebounds. They forced The Cru to turn the ball over 23 times in the contest and turned those turnovers into 19 points on the other end of the floor. Webster also dished out nine assists in the game.

Webster got off to a slow start in the game as UMHB jumped out to an early 10-2 lead. The Gorloks settled in as the quarter progressed and answered with a 10-2 run of their own to cut the lead to two. The Cru pushed their lead back out to eight late in the frame and took a 23-17 lead into the second. They grew their lead out to as many as 11 late in the second, but a 13-1 run in the final two minutes of the half put the Gorloks up 36-35 at the break.

Webster came out of the locker room and quickly extended their lead to three. The Cru battled back and answered with a 15-4 run over the next few minutes to take a 50-42 lead with 3:35 to play in the quarter. They extended their lead out to nine in the in the final two minutes, but a 5-0 run from the Gorloks cut the lead to 55-51 heading in the fourth.

Webster carried over their momentum into the fourth and tied the score at 55 in the first two minutes of the period. They retook the lead with 7:10 left to play in the game and held a 66-61 advantage with 4:28 left to play. However, The Cru tied the score at 72 in the final two minutes and ended the game on a 7-4 run to solidify their spot in the next round.

Bethany Lancaster led the way for Webster as she finished with 21 points and a team high 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the year. Julie Baudendistel also had a great game as she finished with a team high 22 points in the contest. In addition, Naomi Johnson and Lauryn Freeman both added eight points while Hannah Cottrell finished with seven to round out the top performers for Webster.

This marks the end of the historic 2021-22 Webster University women's basketball season. They finished the season with a 25-1 overall record and a 14-0 mark in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. They won the SLIAC Regular Season Title and the SLIAC Tournament Championship while breaking the SLIAC consecutive wins record with their 21^st straight win. They will return to the court in the fall.