McKenzie Jessop had 22 points and a school record 10 steals on Thursday night.
SALT LAKE CITY– McKenzie Jessop led five Griffins in double figures as the Westminster women’s basketball team earned it’s 20th win of the season with an 89-64 defeat of Montana Western on Thursday night in the Behnken Field House. This is the fourth consecutive 20-win season for the Griffins and it lowers their magic number to one to host an opening round game in the Frontier Conference Tournament.
No. 14 Westminster (20-5, 9-1) used a 13-4 run early n the first half to open up a nine point cushion and eventually carried a 38-26 lead into the intermission. It was a 25-7 run midway through the second half that put the Griffins up 23 with 13:26 to play. Montana Western (7-16, 3-7) never got closer than 17 the rest of the night and Westminster came away with an eight consecutive home win.
“I was proud of the way we came to play in the second half,” head coach JD Gustin said. “The first half was as bad as we have been from a communication standpoint this season.”
Westminster used pressure defense to force Western into 28 turnovers and limit them to just 42.1% shooting. The Griffins scored 40 points off the 28 opportunities, including a 12-0 advantage in fast break points. Offensively Westminster shot 49.2% from the floor and connected on 10 treys. The Griffins went 21-of-26 from the foul line, marking the third most attempts from the stripe this season.
“Our pressure did cause some problems,” Gustin stated. “We still haven’t reached our potential, but I think we are close now.”
Jessop narrowly missed a triple-double with 22 points, a school record 10 steals, and nine rebounds. She was 7-of-10 from the field and 6-of-6 at the foul line. For good measure, Jessop added four assists and two blocks.
Dani Evans posted her first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Allie Eastman added 18 points and four assists while Keshia Catten contributes 13 points. Olivia Pierce-Eiselein scored 10 points off the bench. Nicole Yazzie had a career high nine assists.
Kristen Luedtke and Stephanie Dana led Western with 10 points apiece. The Bulldogs outrebounded Westminster 41-20 with 16 coming on the offensive end and resulting in 12 points.
Westminster returns to action on Saturday, February 13 when they host Montana Tech. The game is part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day and will tipoff at 5:30 p.m. 
