Blackburn women's basketball traveled to Westminster for a game against the Blue Jays on Wednesday evening. The Beavers fought hard as four players scored in double-figures led by Savannah Kruse (Lake St. Louis, Missouri / Liberty) with 20 points and Lexie Black (Belleview, Missouri / Valley R-VI) with 19. It wasn't enough, however, as the Blue Jays took home the win, 96-74.
Kruse battled to come away with five boards and added a block to her tally, while Black closed play with a team-high five assists to go along with two steals. Sophomore Jenna Dudra (Pana, Illinois / Pana) was among Beavers scoring leaders for her 11 points, and junior Maria Cline (Springfield, Illinois / Lanphier) added a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds of her own.
Both teams were hot on each other’s tails to start the first quarter as both teams were tied with 7:02 remaining in the period before the Blue Jays closed out the quarter on a 17- run. Mirrakohl Johnson led all scorers with six first-quarter points for Westminster. The Blue Jays netted 9 of 20 from the field to open play and took an 11-point lead into the second quarter.
Westminster continued to drain shot after shot in the second quarter, shooting 50 percent from both the field and beyond the arc. Blake contributed five points for the Beavers in the second quarter, while Dudra and Callista Francis (Fredericktown, Missouri / Fredericktown) both added four points of their own. Blackburn went into halftime trailing 48-24.
The Beavers worked to cut into Westminster’s lead after the halftime break. BC efforts caused them to score 21 points total in the third quarter. However, they would be out-match in the battle on the boards (15-9) and the assists game (8-4), which would prove to be fatal as the Blue Jays once again outscored Blackburn with 27 points.
The fourth quarter was Blackburn’s to win as they shot an accurate 12 of 20 (60 percent) from the field, but Westminster ultimately took home the victory. Blackburn was 14 of 23 from the free throw line on Wednesday afternoon, and also knocked down six three-point shots. BC forced 16 Blue Jays turnovers in the contest and committed 13 of their own. The Beavers move to 4-14 on the season and 1-9 in SLIAC play.
UP NEXT: Blackburn plays at home on Sat. for a 1 p.m. matchup against the Greenville Panthers.