ELSAH, IL - The Principia Women's Basketball team hosted the Westminster College Blue Jays for a conference matchup on Tuesday afternoon. With the incoming winter storm, the Blue Jays were willing to move the game up to get this game in as open game dates get hard to come by as the conference season winds down. The 4:00 pm start time allowed for Westminster to beat the storm home after the game, while also allowing the Panthers to attend as many of their classes as they could with some Principia players running into Hay Field House shortly before game time.
The Panthers held their own against the seasoned Blue Jays in the first half, and were only down six points with two minutes left before halftime. However, Westminster's senior duo of Madison Schaeffer and Reese Arnold proved to be too much for the Panthers to contain, as they combined for 41 of their team's total points in the game. The Blue Jays pulled away throughout the second half, and ended up winning by 35 as the final score was 89-54. Principia continues to get players back from various obstacles they have faced this year, and the team continues to battle and show their resilience despite the long season taking a toll on the Panthers.
The Principia women managed to find several things to build on as they start to wind down their season in the next three weeks. Aaliyah Scott (12 points and 5 rebounds) combined with fellow guard Raina Bryant (5 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) continue to carry the heavy minutes load by playing over 30 for the sixth game in a row. The Panthers were grateful to see Alana Hinson (9 points and 6 rebounds) and Lydia Klutho (7 points and 5 rebounds) back in the rotation this game. Leading the Panthers on the boards was Carolina Rojas with 10 rebounds, 7 points and 3 steals.
"We are so grateful for the coaching staff and the administration at Westminster working with us to make sure that we got to get this game in before the weather hit," said Coach Ro. "We are also very thankful and blessed with the Principia event staff, our AD Ann Pierson, and President Williams supporting us with the earlier start time. It was truly a team effort by both teams, staffs, and administrations, which is what I love about the SLIAC conference as a whole."
Up Next: Principia's game on Thursday against Eureka has been postponed due to weather and will be rescheduled shortly. That makes Saturday's 1:00 pm home game against Blackburn the next opportunity to catch your Principia women play at Hay Field House.
