ELSAH, IL – Tuesday evening was another opportunity for the Principia Women's Basketball team to make history as they strived to beat Westminster College for the first time since February 2008. Playing their first home conference game of the season, the Panthers knew their work would be cut out for them against a strong Blue Jays team coming off seven straight wins. However, these Principia women were more than up to the task, putting together one of their most complete performances of the season for a convincing 12 point win.
The first quarter started quickly for the Panthers as recent transfer
Brin Hultz helped start the surge with eight points in the first frame, including two 3-pointers.
Taylor Brown gave the offense a push of her own with some great defense that led to two quick layups. This enabled the Panthers to take an 18-13 lead after the first. The experience of Westminster started to come out in the second quarter as they battled back on some hustle plays that led to second chance opportunities that they capitalized on. After a pretty even first half, the Panthers managed to hold on to the lead at 30-28.
The third quarter has been a learning curve for Principia this conference season, but they showed massive improvement tonight. The Panthers came out and clamped down defensively while starting to click on the offensive end at the same time. One of the highlights of the second half was sophomore
Paige Fowler making a shot from her knees after a scramble for the ball. Outscoring the Blue Jays by 11 in the quarter, the Panthers ended the third in control of the game at 54-41. The fourth quarter was full of back-and-forth action with each team taking runs, but the Panthers held strong for the impressive 73-61 victory to end Westminster's winning streak.
Brin Hultz continues to be a difference maker for the Panthers as she ended the game with her first collegiate double double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. As they do in every game, the freshman duo of
Taylor Brown and
Ariana Williams were big contributors on both ends of the court. Brown led all scorers with 23 points tonight while Williams added 14 points. Principia now sits at 2-1 in SLIAC conference play and 7-4 overall.
Up Next: Principia's non-conference game at Illinois College was moved from this Thursday to February 6th, so their next game will be at home on Saturday at 1:00 pm against Blackburn College. Come cheer on the Panthers if you're in the area!
