ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Webster University women's basketball team was back in action this evening when they played host to the Westminster (Mo.) College Blue Jays for the SLIAC Women's Basketball Tournament Championship. The top seeded Gorloks defeated the second seeded Blue Jays for the third straight season in the championship game with a 71-56 victory. The win improves the Gorloks overall record to 27-0 and captures the programs league leading seventh SLIAC Tournament Championship.

Webster went 28-for-63 (44.4%) from the floor and 8-for-20 (40.0%) from behind the arc. They were outrebounded by a final count of 42-36 with 12 rebounds coming on the offensive end. They forced the Blue Jays to turn the ball over 22 times in the game and turned those turnovers into 19 points on the other end of the floor. Webster also dished out 17 assists while racking up 13 steals.

Webster got off to a slow start in the first quarter of the game as Westminster started the contest on an 11-4 run to take an early lead. Webster would cut the lad to four, but a 13-2 run from the Blue Jays to end the quarter put them up 24-9 heading into the second. Westminster carried over their momentum into the second and grew their lead to 19. Webster would respond with a 20-8 run to end the half and the Blue Jays would take a 38-31 lead into the locker room.

The Blue Jays would come out of the locker room and extend their lead back out to nine. Webster would settle in as the quarter progressed and went on a 19-6 run down the final stretch of the quarter to put themselves up 52-48 heading into he fourth. Webster carried over their momentum into the fourth and started the frame on a 12-4 run to extend their lead to 12. The Blue Jays tried to get back into the game in the final minutes but the damage was done as the Gorloks held them off down the stretch to solidify their third straight SLIAC Tournament Title.

Julie Baudendistel led the way for Webster as she finished with a game high 23 points to go along with five rebounds. Her 23 points tonight puts her at 1,676 career points making her the Gorloks all-time leading scorer.

Kate Rolfes also had a great game as she finished with 20 points to go along with five rebounds. In addition, Meghan Illingworth added seven points, Jordyn Grimes dished out a game high seven assists, and Emily Wilson grabbed a team high 10 rebounds to round out the top performers for Webster.

Following the conclusion of the game, the SLIAC announced the All-Tournament Team. For their efforts in the last two games, Kate Rolfes and Emily Wilson were both recognized. In addition, Julie Baudendistel was named the SLIAC Women's Basketball Tournament MVP.

The Gorloks have qualified for the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Tournament for the eighth time in program history. They will find out who, when, and where they will play when the tournament field is announced on Monday, February 26^th at 1:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.