Lady Lions clinch win against Westminster

By: Haley Paul

New Wilmington, PA - The Lady Lions advance to 5-7 overall after a close win against Westminster Monday night. 

To open the game, Beaver was quick to jump onto the score board, gaining a 4 point lead over Westminster in the first minute of the first quarter. The Lady Lions kept a steady lead throughout the quarter with offense and defense working hand in hand, leaving Westminster 6 points behind Beaver at the end of the first quarter.

Moving into the second quarter, Mason Depetro (Pittsburgh, PA/ Cornell) was quick to add 3 more points to Beaver's lead (19-10). Beaver's defense rallied and kept Westminster in check, limiting them to only 13 points in the second quarter while the Lady Lions went on to score 19, expanding their lead at halftime to 12 (35.23).

Trailing by 9 after an early 3-pointer to open the second half, Westminster battled to get back into the game, narrowing their deficit to 6 points (35-29) at the 8:18 mark. Then Brittany Jackson (Turtle Creek, PA/ Westinghouse) sparked an offensive attack with just over seven minutes to play in the quarter resulting in an eight point run by Beaver giving them a seemingly comfortable 40-29 lead.  Westminster again would rally to narrow the Lady Lion lead to six to close out the third quarter (46-40).

Westminster's late spark carried into the final ten minutes of the game as they narrowed the Lady Lion lead to four to open the quarter.  Beaver was quick to respond, expanding their lead to 11 (55-44) with 3:39 to play.  But as they had done in the first half, Westminster rallied their offense to go on a 9-point run with 1:15 to play.  Despite a late 3-point shot by Westminster, Beaver was able to hold on to the win by a final score of 58-56. 

Leading the Lady Lions offensively was Morgan Kurtz (Washington, PA/ Trinity) with 16 points, followed by Khalia Adams (Washington D.C., Phelps) with 14. Beaver returns to action Thursday, January 14th at 7 p.m. at home as they play host to Carlow.