Elsah, Ill. -- Tonight the Principia College women's basketball team faced last year's SLIAC conference champions, the Lady Blue Jays of Westminster College.  Off to a fiery start, Principia played close with Westminster all half long, hitting 3s and getting defensive stops that had Westminster somewhat stymied.  The onslaught was led by junior point guard Dani Carney, who played some of her best basketball of the season, bringing the ball up against Westminster pressure and shooting with a confidence that set a great tone for the team.  However, coupled with the solid play was the flaw that continues to plague the Lady Panther squad: turnovers.  Prin turned the ball over 14 times in the 1st half (26 times in total), most of which resulted in easy buckets at the other end for Westminster.  Principia was aided by the defensive energy and rebounding of freshman guard Becca DeNicholas who played solid defensive for the Panthers all game long, and logged a collegiate career high of 7 rebounds.  Led by Carney's 10 first half points, and in spite of the turnovers, Principia went into the locker room at half down just 9 points.

The deficit proved to be too much for Prin to overcome.  With continued turnovers and some players in foul trouble, Prin struggled to find an offensive flow that would allow them to take the lead.  But there continued to be improvement and solid basketball exhibited by all of the Lady Panther squad.  Three of the five starters scored in double-figures: junior captain Sarah Corbitt with 11, senior captain Lindsay Sydness with 12 points (she also had 10 boards and 3 blocks), and Dani Carney with a game high 17.  Despite some foul trouble, freshman forward Torie DeNicholas had 9 points and 5 boards, as well as played some key interior defense.  Principia also got valuable minutes from freshmen Mac Wilgus and Karina Olsen.  Mac came of the bench and hit 2 for 3 from the field and contributed 3 assists in her 17 minutes, and in just about 5 minutes of play Karina logged 3 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist.

Overall, with quality contribution from all members of the squad, Principia looks to continue to build on the progress of this evening's game.  Their next opportunity will be at Webster University on Saturday, January 14th.  Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.