Lady Blue Jays surge to ninth straight victory

The first-place Westminster College Lady Blue Jays outscored the Fontbonne University Lady Griffins 48-36 in the second half to extend their winning streak to nine games with Wednesday night's 90-72 SLIAC home victory.

Westminster (15-4, 11-2 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) went into halftime with a 42-36 edge, but started to take control by outscoring Fontbonne 22-14 in the third quarter. The Lady Blue Jays sealed the win by outscoring the Lady Griffins 26-22 in the fourth quarter to avenge a 73-67 loss at Fontbonne on Jan. 2.

Junior guard Andrea Zalis produced 21 points to lead three players in double figures for Westminster, which shot 46 percent (31-of-67) as a team. Senior guard Mackenzie Haddox tallied 16 of her 18 points in the second half, while junior forward Krista Armontrout - the reigning SLIAC player of the week - added 17.

Armontrout also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to steer the Lady Blue Jays to a 47-35 advantage on the boards. Haddox (game-high six), Zalis (five) and Armontrout (four) accounted for 15 of Westminster's 20 assists.

DeAmbra Pilkinton responded with a game-high 25 points to pace Fontbonne (7-12, 6-7), which shot 45 percent (30-of-67) from the field. Olivia Hollander followed with 15 points.

The Lady Blue Jays remain at home for a SLIAC contest against Eureka (Ill.) College at 4 p.m. Saturday. Westminster prevailed at Eureka 57-42 on Jan. 6.