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The Blue Jays discuss strategy during their Nov. 15 season opener.
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Blue Jays Let Early Lead Slip Away In Season-Opening LossThe Westminster College women could not hold a halftime lead and dropped a 75-66 season-opening non-conference decision to Central College of Iowa Saturday in Fulton.
The Blue Jays (0-1) led 40-36 at halftime, but Central (1-0) used a 21-14 advantage at the charity stripe to win the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Senior Brittney Scott paced Westminster with 14 points, freshman Rachel Backes added 11 points in her first collegiate contest, and senior Ashley Stanfill finished with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Westminster Fifth And Sixth In SLIAC Pre-Season PollsThe Westminster College men’s and women’s basketball squads are picked fifth and sixth, respectively, in the pre-season polls of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference coaches.
Despite finishing 17-8 overall and tying for second in the league standings at 12-4 last year, the Blue Jay men are picked fifth. This ranking is due in part because of the loss of four starters. Defending conference tournament champion Fontbonne University is picked first, followed by; 2. Webster University, 3. Maryville University, 4. Greenville College, 5. Westminster, 6. Eureka College, 7. Blackburn College, 8. MacMurray College and 9. Principia College.
Surprisingly, the Westminster women are picked just sixth, after finishing 11-14 overall and fifth in league play last year at 6-10. Maryville is the top pick, followed by; 2. Fontbonne, 3 Blackburn and Greenville, 5. Principia, 6. Westminster, 7. Webster, 8. Eureka, and 9. MacMurray.
Both Blue Jay teams open the season this Saturday. The Westminster women host Central College (Iowa) at 2:00, while the men face The University of Central Missouri at 7:00 in Warrensburg.