MT. PLEASANT, Iowa - Westminster women's basketball falls 65-53 to SLIAC opponent Iowa Wesleyan.

The Blue Jays falls to 9-14 overall and 7-8 in the conference. 

"We did a better job of taking care of the ball today, but unfortunately the game came down to our poor freethrow shooting," said Westminster Head Coach Tracey Braden. 

The Blue Jays fell behind early in the first quarter on a 6-0, but layups from Mirrakohl Johnson and Andrea Zalis put Westminster back in the game. After one quarter, the Blue Jays trailed 14-10. 

The Tigers got out to a 9-0 run in the second quarter, but Payton Beeler went on a 6-0 run by herself to keep Westminster alive. Ali Perry and Zalis added baskets to complete the 10-0 run and put Westminster down by just two. 

Five points from Johnson in the final minute of the half gave Westminster the lead going into the locker rooms at 30-29. 

Westminster lost the lead in the third quarter, but five more points from Beeler kept the deficit to just 43-40. 

A jump shot and a three-pointer from Beeler and Zalis tied the game at 45 in the fourth quarter with 8:46 remaining in the game, however, the Tigers went on to outscore Westminster 22-13 in the final quarter to take the win. 

Beeler scored a game-high 18 points while Zalis poured in 14. 

"I'm so proud of Payton's mental approach to the game today," said Braden. "This was the best game for her and she competed for the entire game."

The Blue Jays play their last game of the season Wednesday, Feb. 15 against Eureka. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.