After controlling the first half on Saturday night in Murchison Gym, the Westmont College women’s basketball team couldn’t keep up in 3-pointers, rebounds or points in the second half of an 86-79 loss to GSAC champion Vanguard.
Rachel Copeland and Bridgette Reyes scored 20 apiece for the defending NAIA champion Lions (25-3, 18-1), who are ranked No. 2 in the country.
Sophomore Elizabeth Evancoe paced a balanced scoring attack for the 14th-ranked Warriors (21-6, 13-6) with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point land. Jessica Case added 13 points while Angel Blanco had 12 points and six rebounds and Ali Mooty contributed 11 points and five boards. Amber Stevens added nine points and eight assists.
It was the final regular-season home game for Mooty, a 6-1 forward from Edina, Minn., and fellow seniors Annie Johnson and Lindsey Chessum.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Mooty, the Warriors’ all-time leader in scoring average (12.4), rebounds (709) and free throws (304). “Westmont basketball has meant so much to my college experience. Getting to share it with these girls has been a blast.
“Vanguard is so good. They came out strong in the half and we just need to bring the same energy. Our shots didn’t fall and we didn’t get out on shooters.”
Westmont went up by 11 (32-21) on a 3-pointer by Katie Kittle with 9:44 to go in the opening half. The Lions responded with a 10-0 run but the Warriors scored 11 of the next 13 and built the lead back to 10 on a trey by Evancoe with 2:31 left.
Evancoe scored 12 of her 15 points in the first half on 4-5 long-range shooting. The Warriors hit 8 of their 15 triples in the first 20 minutes, only to see Vanguard do the exact same thing in the second stanza. Westmont outshot the visitors from Costa Mesa 48.4 to 38.5 percent in the first half, then got outshot 56 to 43.3 percent in the second.
The Lions outrebounded the home team 41-25 and enjoyed a 12-point advantage at the free-throw line, hitting 25-30 compared to 13-16 for Westmont.
“We played with great energy and we were on fire in the first half,” said Warrior coach Kirsten Moore, whose team led 43-39 at intermission. “We had all the momentum and really should have been up by a lot more if it weren’t for fouls and them getting free throws and offensive rebounds.”
Vanguard took the lead for good at the 14:35 mark, 53-51, when a pair of Reyes’ free throws ignited a 14-2 run. Lauren Gregory, a 6-1 forward and the only senior on the Lions, scored 12 of her 16 points in the final 20 minutes.
“In the second half, their shooters got hot, they got the momentum and we were struggling to get any kind of momentum in the second half,” noted Moore, whose team has lost three in a row for the first time all season. “They’re ranked No. 2 in the country for a reason. They’ve got great offensive players and we just needed to play better defense in the second half.”
Westmont, which has locked up third place in the GSAC behind Vanguard and Point Loma, travels to Azusa Pacific for its final regular-season game on Monday at 5:30 p.m. The Warriors will host a first-round GSAC Tournament game on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
