ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College women's basketball team defeated Principia College on Wednesday night to win back-to-back games after beating Lincoln Christian on Tuesday night. The Pomeroys edged out the Panthers, 96-91, to improve to 8-8 on the year.

Senior Grace Ziegler went for 29 points to lead SMWC, while sophomore Tara Parmer chipped in 15 points. Senior Shelby Parmer led the Pomeroys in assists and steals with four of each. Junior Bria Hill continued her upward trend of dominating on the glass, as she grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds. In Hill's four games this season, she has increased her number on the boards with each time out. She now has back-to-back double-digit rebounding nights after grabbing 11 boards on Tuesday at LCU.

The Pomeroys again got out to a fast start for the second straight game, and it made all the difference. SMWC outscored the Panthers 28-19 in the first quarter, but the Panthers came back and went head to head with SMWC in the second as both sides put 27 points on the scoreboard.

In the third quarter, the Pomeroys edged out the Panthers by one point, 24-23, to maintain a 79-69 lead heading into the final quarter. Although down 10, the Panthers still had some energy. The Panthers pulled within striking distance in the final six minutes, but three-pointers by junior Mikayla Kinneer, freshman Kristen Nestor and Ziegler helped keep the Panthers at bay, securing the Pomeroys eighth win of the season.

SMWC will be back in action on Saturday when they host No. 5 Berea at home in Hamilton Arena. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tipoff and will feature LIVE stats and video via the Pomeroys LIVE Portal.