Women's Hoops Falls to Westminster
Feb. 10 – NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Despite a 20-point effort from junior Hayley Holenka (Shadyside, Ohio/Shadyside), as well as a double-double from sophomore Kelsea Daugherty (Newport, Ohio/Frontier), the Bethany College women's basketball team dropped a 66-61 decision to Westminster College on Wednesday evening.
Both teams had a hard time getting the offense rolling in the opening quarter, with the first bucket not being scored until the 6:16 mark of the frame. Bethany opened their lead to four points (12-8) with 3:08 left in the quarter on a three by Holenka.
Westminster came right back in quarter, outscoring the Green & White 8-1 to go up 16-13 with 38 seconds to play. Ashley Duthie (Madison, Ohio/Madison) would tally the final points of the frame, getting an "old-fashioned" three-point play to knot the game at 16-16 by the quarter's end.
Bethany would make their biggest push of the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Titans 15-10 to take a five-point advantage at the break.
With the Green & White holding a three-point lead (25-22), freshman Alexis LoNero (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic) came off the bench to knock down back-to-back threes, giving Bethany their biggest lead of the game, 31-22, with 3:31 to go in the half.
Westminster would respond with the half's next four points, but neither team could find the bucket in the final 2:41 of the frame. The Bison would go into the break with a 31-26 advantage at the half.
Daugherty posted solid work in the first two quarters, posting 10 points while adding nine boards.
The third quarter saw Bethany push the advantage to seven points (37-30) at the 5:24 mark on another three by Holenka. The Titans then responded with a 7-0 run, including baskets by Danielle Dindak and Kylie Cook, which knotted the game at 37-37.
With three minutes to go in the third, Westminster swung the momentum in their favor, using a 12-2 run to end the quarter, putting the Bison in a 49-44 hole by the end of the frame.
The Titans' advantage would extend to as many as 10 (54-44) on a three-point play by Kylie Cook at the 8:26 mark of the fourth.
Bethany would make a push in the quarter, outscoring Westminster 11-2 over the next six minutes to pull within three (58-55) with 2:59 to go. Holenka notched seven points in the run, including a three that would bring the Bison within a bucket.
The Bison would get no closer than three points, however, falling to the Titans by a final of 66-61.
Holenka led the way for the Green & White, totaling 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting. She also finished with five assists and a career-high seven steals. Daugherty finished the game with a double-double, totaling 10 points and 14 rebounds. Other scoring leaders included Duthie, Mikyla Tipton (Wellsville, Ohio/Wellsville) and Maclaine Murad (Bridgeport, Ohio/Bridgeport) who all added seven, each.
The Bison will be back in action on Saturday, February 13, when they travel to Waynesburg, Pa. for a bout with Waynesburg University. The game is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start.
