EUREKA, Ill. - Westminster College limited the Eureka College Lady Red Devils to a meager 28-percent shooting effort as the Lady Blue Jays got back on track in SLIAC play with a 57-42 victory Wednesday night.
Westminster - bouncing back from a 73-67 conference loss at Fontbonne University on Saturday - overcame a ragged 34-percent shooting performance (20-of-59) of its own against Eureka. The Lady Blue Jays also committed 12 of their 18 turnovers in the second half.
"We executed offensively but still struggled to find the bottom of the net," Westminster head coach Tracey Braden said. "We need to do a better job of taking care of the ball. We finished with too many unforced turnovers in the second half.
"We realize it is a process, though, and we are committed to staying the course."
The Lady Blue Jays (7-4, 3-2 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) led 12-9 after one quarter and went into halftime with a 33-24 advantage. Westminster took a 43-35 edge into the fourth quarter and outscored the Lady Red Devils 14-7 over the last 10 minutes to pull away for the win.
Senior guard Kasey Gatson was 8-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, to pace the Lady Blue Jays with a game-high 21 points. Senior guard Mackenzie Haddox also logged 13 points.
Junior forward Andrea Zalis collected a team-high seven rebounds to help Westminster to a 41-40 edge on the boards.
Michaela Balducci and Emily Camden scored 13 points apiece to lead Eureka (3-9, 2-3), which made just 14-of-51 shots from the field.
The Lady Blue Jays return home for a SLIAC contest against Blackburn (Ill.) College at 1 p.m. Saturday.