After annihilating Visitation in the opening round of the Class four District five tournament on Tuesday, winning by a score of 60-36, the one seeded Westminster’s girls basketball team faced off against the second seeded John Burroughs in the championship game and looked to extend their winning streak to six games while clinching a ticket to the sectional tournament.

In their one matchup during the regular season, Westminster handily defeated Burroughs 59-39, but with the championship on the line, Burroughs was not about to make it that easy for the Wildcats the second time around.

Coming into the tournament, both Burroughs (12-5) and Westminster (21-4) were riding the hot hands of two of the best shooters in the area. The Wildcat’s Brooke Highmark (18.2 ppg, 2.6 threes per game), junior, and the bombers Allie Turner (15.6 ppg, 2.5 threes per game), freshman, have both been extremely efficient on the offensive end, leading their teams to very successful seasons.

In the first quarter, the Cats started out slow as Burroughs scored the first six 6 points of the game and led by as much as 8. After Burroughs’ quick run, the quarter consisted of a lot of back and forth action between both squads. Julia Coleman, sophomore, led Westminster with four points in the first quarter with buckets also coming from Carlie Vick, junior, Highmark, and Marty Briner, senior. By the end of the quarter, Westminster had pulled within two scores at the end of the quarter, trailing 17-13.

Westminster began to impose their defensive will in the second quarter, forcing three quick turnovers from the Bombers. Smooth shooting junior lefty, Riley Brophy, took advantage, hitting two threes in their first two offensive possessions to take a 19-17 lead.

After regaining their composure, Burroughs once again went on a run, led by their two best players, Turner and Vanessa Polk, junior. Turner’s electric playmaking skills combined with Polk’s 6’1 stature in the paint proved to be a difficult force to stop for the Cats throughout the course of the game. However, WCA’s own studs continued to keep pace with some offensive firepower of their own.

With six points in the quarter, Briner was a key piece to Westminster’s attack, keeping her team close. At the end of the second quarter, Burroughs went to the locker room clinging to a four point lead, winning 31-27.

As the second half began, both teams continued to go back and forth, blow for blow. Westminster’s scoring attack remained balanced as four different girls contributed to the scoreboard. Briner stayed hot, leading the team with four points in the quarter, while Highmark’s exceptional passing skills helped get her teammates open looks. On the opposing side, Allie Turner was automatic from the free throw line, shooting four for four in the quarter (eight for eight in the game) while also adding a couple of baskets from the field. Going into the final quarter, John Burroughs continued to hold on to a small two point lead, 40-38.

The first few minutes of the fourth quarter belonged to Julia Coleman who scored six quick points and knotted the score up at 44 with only a few minutes left to play. As the clock began to wind down with both teams still tied, Highmark, despite a relatively silent game by her standards over the first three quarters, came up clutch when the Wildcats needed it the most.

As the intensity of the crowd picked up and it began to become crunch time, Highmark hit a dagger three to put the Wildcats up 47-44 with two minutes to go. After two more free throws from Burroughs’ Turner, Highmark once again took it upon herself to get the Cats a bucket, going coast to coast for a layup.

Burroughs couldn’t convert on the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity, and as the clock began to dwindle down, they had no choice but to foul the Cats to stop the clock. With ice running through her veins, Highmark cooly stepped up to the line and nailed both free throws to put Westminster up five, 51-46.

Burroughs wasn’t quite ready to cede the title, however, and after two quick banked-in threes in the final seconds, they were within one point of Westminster’s lead, 53-52.

After Highmark hit one of two free throws, Burroughs had an opportunity to win the game on a buzzer beating three, but it clanked off the rim, and the Cats held on for a 54-52 win.

Leading Westminster was Highmark with sixteen points, Coleman with fourteen points, and Briner with twelve. This deep into the postseason, most teams go by the mantra “survive and advance,” and that’s exactly what the Wildcats did. Although it may have been closer than they wanted it to be, the girls basketball team lives to see another day.

Westminster plays again in the first round of the sectional tournament on March 10th, facing off against the District six champion, Lutheran St. Charles at Francis Howell’s gym.