Blue Jay Women Bow in First-Ever NCAA Game
Greencastle, Ind. – Westminster College entered its first NCAA Division III women's national tournament as an underdog, but the Blue Jays battled #4 DePauw University to the end Friday before closing out the best season in school history with a 66-46 loss.
Westminster (22-5) fell behind by 11 points at 21-11, but didn’t fold and used a 15-6 run to trail just 27-26 at intermission. The Blue Jays would knot the score twice in the first three minutes of the second half on a 3-pointer by sophomore Leigh Ann Lutz (California, Mo./California) and a lay-up by senior Rachel Backes (Tipton, Mo./Tipton). DePauw (27-1) used a 44-27 rebound advantage and 45.3 percent shooting from the field to hold off the Blue Jays and advance to Saturday’s second-round meeting with Carthage College.
Backes, who was starting and playing in a school record 101st game, closed out her career with 13 points, and Lutz finished with 12 points. Senior Liz Klaffenbach (Battle Ground, Wash./Prairie) played in a school-record tying 101st game and scored just three points, while senior Heather Letourneau (Smithton, Mo./Smithton) scored two points in her career finale. Katie Aldrich led DePauw with a game-high 19 points and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.
In Other First-round Action: Diana Jacklin scored a game-high 23 points to lead Carthage (21-7) to a 74-68 victory over #19 Wisconsin-Whitewater (22-7).
NCAA Women’s Division III First/Second Rounds:
DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana
Friday, March 2
Carthage, Wis. 74, #19 Wisconsin-Whitewater 68
#4 DePauw 66, Westminster 46
Saturday, March 3
6:00 CT: Carthage (21-7) at DePauw (27-1)
Courtesy Westminster College (Mo.) sports information
