Despite posting a 21-point victory, the Westminster College women’s basketball team wasn’t pleasesd with its performance.
The second-seeded Lady Titans struggled offensively in the second half of their 67-46 win over seventh-seeded Grove City last night in the first round of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Tournament.
“They’re defensively strong, but at the same time, we weren’t running an offense,” Westminster junior Emilee Ackerman said. “Our offense was a mess today and we weren’t playing as a team.”
Tying a school record with 21 wins — the Lady Titans were 21-8 in 2005 — Westminster (21-5) cruised through the first half to build a 33-18 lead.
“We got ourselves in a hole,” said Grove City coach Sarah Harris, whose team entered the contest on a five-game losing streak. “It’s hard to claw back and be able to sustain a run.
“Westminster’s tough. Every time you think you have them, they’ll answer. They did a good job of executing, taking advantage of their home court, hitting shots and playing their game.”
However, Grove City came out strong in the second half. The Lady Wolverines, who concluded their season at 5-20, began with a 9-0 run and drew within five points after a Laura Miller 3-pointer to make it 38-33.
“Grove City came out here ready to play,” Westminster coach Rosanne Scott said. “When things weren’t open right away, we panicked a little and did things that aren’t our type of offense. The six minutes in the second half we still weren’t in sync.”
The Lady Titans went on a 13-2 run to regain control.
“We got the momentum by going up and down the floor getting shots and we got them a little tired defensively,” Scott said.
Senior guard Desiree Sterling led the way with 17 points and seven rebounds for Westminster. Ackerman followed with 14 markers.
““Defensively, we kind of sagged off,” Ackerman said. “The first half defense was amazing. We were in their face and they couldn’t do anything. Then we came out lackadaisical and just sat back and let them have their run.”
Rachel Eaton supplied 12 points for the Lady Titans, and senior guard Nicole Fee, a Neshannock High graduate, added four.
“We definitely had the momentum in the game; it was just shot selection and then we took ourselves out of it,” Sterling said. “We then started to establish what we needed.”
Rachel McCoy paced Grove City with nine points. Brittany Anderson and Pam Larson each followed with seven while Mohawk High graduate Katy McCready added five points.
Westminster advances to play third-seeded Washington & Jefferson at 6 p.m. Friday at Thomas More, Ky. The Lady Titans swept W&J; during the regular season.
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