Westmont womem’s basketball put a scare into NCAA Division-I opponent Pepperdine in the first half on Halloween night, but the Waves used 50% shooting from the floor in the second half to post a 61-47 exhibition victory over the Warriors.
Westmont held Pepperdine scoreless in the first four minutes while jumping out to a 6-0 lead. The Waves shot only 26.5% in the first half compared to 31.8% for the Warriors. But Westmont had trouble getting the ball inside against the much taller post players the Waves brought to the floor. The Warriors also contended with a 40-minute full court press.
Junior guard Jessica Case (6 points, 6 rebounds) opened the scoring for Westmont by hitting a three pointer from the top of the key in the first minute of play. Three minutes into the game, Case scored on a fastbreak, putting the Warriors up by six.
“I am really please with the mentality that our team came into the game with,” said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. “They came in attacking and confident in themselves. They were doing a great job on the boards, only allowing them one shot. That was really important against a team that was bigger than us. Our team did a good job of setting the pace early.”
Pepperdine tied the score at ten on free throws by Nakeya Isabell (4 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) with just over 11 minutes to play. Miranda Ayim (7 points, 6 rebounds) then hit an eight-foot jumper at the 9:46 mark to give the Waves their first lead of the night.
Down 16-13, Westmont once more faced pressure from the Waves in the backcourt. But Lindsey Chessum (3 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists), passed the ball to an open Amber Stevens (7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) giving the Warriors a three-on-two advantage. Stevens dribbled down the court and passed to freshman guard Katie Kittle who scored on a jumper.
On the Waves’ next possession, Stevens intercepted a pass — one of her three steals — and forwarded the ball to Kittle. Kittle missed a shot, but Chessum grabbed an offensive rebound and fed the ball to freshman forward Emily Tewksbury (8 points, 3 rebounds), who put the Warriors up 17-16.
“Amber is as good as they come,” said Moore. “It doesn’t matter if we are playing an NAIA team or a team (like Pepperdine) that went to the NCAA Tournament, Amber is going to be one of the best players of the floor.”
After a 30-second timeout called by Pepperdine head coach Julie Rousseau, the Waves brought the ball down the court. Two offensive rebounds later, freshman forward Alex Jarrell scored to give the Waves an 18-17, a lead they would not relinquish.
Westmont went into the locker room down 24-20, but the second half was not as kind to the Warriors. Pepperdine opened the second frame with an 8-1 run to push the lead to 32-21. A jumper by junior post Alisha Heglund and a lay-up by Stevens, moved the Warriors to within seven (32-25). But Isabelle rolled in a layup and Katie Menton nailed a three-pointer to advance the Pepperdine margin to 37-25.
In response, Westmont sophomore guard Elizabeth Evancoe (9 points, 2 rebounds) hit the first of her three-point baskets, but Menton struck again from long distance to preserve Pepperdine’s 12-point lead (40-28). Over the next six minutes, the Waves outscored the Warriors 15-3, to go up by 24 points (55-31).
“We had a big size disadvantage in the post,” said Moore. “Not only are their posts big, but they are really active as well. We struggled getting the ball inside. When we were able to do so, some good things happened. It just didn’t happen as much.
“We didn’t know they were going to press for 40 minutes,” continued Moore. “We were able to handle the press and in the second half did a really good job taking care of the ball. They were playing a style were we weren’t going to get a lot of half-court offensive looks. Some of that figured in our not getting the ball into the post.”
Despite the deficit, the Warriors were not finished. Westmont scored 16 of the last 22 points, 14 of them by underclassmen. Kittle scored on a lay-up and three-pointer, Tewksbury added a layup and subsequent free throw, and Evancoe sank two more from beyond the arc.
“It is really exciting to see our freshman and Ali Lomax (sophomore transfer) out there and get them some experience. They came out aggressive and without doubting themselves. Katie can really score and Emily is a great competitor who has a great feel for the game. She hit some big shots, got on the boards and really competed hard. Elizabeth was our leading scorer and I love her mentality. She is so confident in her shots and is attacking the basket.”
Westmont will play at UC Santa Barbara in its final exhibition game on Wednesday, November 5. Tip-off is at seven o’clock. Then the Warriors begin playing for keeps, opening at home on Friday, November 7 against William Jessup, and on Saturday, November 8 against Cal State Maritime. Both games begin at 5:30 p.m.
