by SALT LAKE CITY – The 14th-ranked Westminster College women’s basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Frontier Conference Tournament with a 58-46 win over Carroll College on Saturday night in the Behnken Field House.
The top-seeded Griffins reach the title game for the third time in the past four seasons while improving to 22-7 overall on the season. They will take an 11-game winning streak into Tuesday night’s final against No. 13 Lewis-Clark State College. Lewis-Clark is the tourney’s No. 2 seed and made the final with a 60-49 win over third-seeded MSU-Northern on Saturday night.
Westminster had to battle on Saturday as Carroll (13-16) limited the Griffins to 44.7% shooting and just 17 made field goals. Westminster made just six baskets after halftime and was actually outscored 27-26 after the intermission. The Griffins finished 7-of-13 from beyond the arc, including a 6-of-11 performance in the first half. They did record 12 assists on those 17 made hoops.
After falling behind 12-11 at the 10:35 mark of the first half, Westminster put together a 16-3 run to open up a 27-15 lead with 3:00 remaining. They lead would reach 32-19 as Jenteal Jacksonmade a three with time expiring in the first half to lead the Griffins into the break ahead, 32-19.
While Carroll was never closer than six throughout the second half, the game never felt secure for the Griffins. Kalee Junkermier made a jumper at the 8:12 mark to cut the Westminster advantage to 42-36. After Westminster scored six consecutive points, Carroll posted a 7-2 run to close to within 50-43 with 1:49 to play. The Griffins sealed the win by making 4-of-4 free throws mixed in with a breakaway layup from Dana Bates.
The Griffins held Carroll to 36.6% shooting, including just 8-of-25 (32%) in the second half. The Saints committed 18 turnovers which turned into 22 Westminster points. Westminster had a 27-26 advantage on the boards and both teams scored 20 points in the paint.
Nicole Yazzie led Westminster with 17 points on a 5-of-14 shooting night. She scored 13 of those points in the first half and went 3-of-7 from distance. Bates added 14 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and fourth of her career. Cydney Tibbits scored nine points with six rebounds and Jackson had eight points, six assists and five boards.
Torrie Cahill led Carroll with 16 points and two assists. Bailey Snelling and Jordan Bagley each added nine points off the bench. Carroll forced 16 Griffin turnovers and scored 17 points from them.
Tuesday’s game with LCSC will be played in the Behnken Field House with a 7 p.m. tipoff. Westminster is 0-2 all-time in the tournament final, with both losses coming against LCSC in Salt Lake City. The two teams split the two games this season with each winning at home.
