In a well contested game by both teams, #8 Point Loma Nazarene withstood the relentless attacks of #17 Westmont to claim a 62-54 semifinal win in the final Golden State Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament. By virtue of the win, Point Loma Nazarene will advance the to championship game on Monday night at Vanguard who defeated Azusa Pacific 73-71 in the other semifinal.
“I thought we played with a lot of heart and a lot of effort tonight,” said head coach Kirsten Moore. “It was a tough, grind-out basketball game – a real defensive effort by both teams.”
Alisha Heglund (8 points, 3 rebounds) started the scoring in the game by making just her second three-pointer of the year. That started a back-and-forth battle between the two squads in which neither team gained more than a five point advantage. Heglund would also score from beyond the arc in the second half.
“Alisha has one of those games every year and she hasn’t had one so far this year, so she was due,” said Moore. “We were trying to stretch Point Loma out to the corner and draw their post players out away from the basket a little bit. Alisha did a good job of stepping outside.”
Down 20-18 with four minutes remaining in the opening period, Elizabeth Evancoe (10 points) connected on a jumper to begin a 7-0 Warrior run. After a steal by Amber Stevens (7 points, 5 assists, 5 steals, 3 rebounds), Evancoe pulled down an offensive board and scored on the put back. Two minutes later, Evancoe completed the run by striking from three-point range. Making the score 25-20 with one minute to go before intermission.
But Point Loma scored the remaining four points of the half, two on a layup by Colleen Planeta (19 points) and two on free throws by Leah Ector (9 points, 10 rebounds). As a result, the Warriors took a narrow 25-24 lead into the intermission.
Westmont held onto the lead for the first seven and one-half minutes of the second half until Bonnie Zabinsky (13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) tied the game at 33 with a layup. Two free throws by Ector game the Sea Lions their first lead of the second half before Katie Kittle (9 points, 4 rebounds) scored on a layup to tie the game at 35.
The lead continued to change hands over the next three and one-half minutes. But with Westmont up 43-42, Point Loma produced a 13-2 run to take a 55-45 advantage with 2:20 remaining. The run included three-pointers by Zabinsky and Pernilla Hanson (3 points, 6 rebounds).
“It’s tough to play a semifinal game on someone else’s court,” said Moore. “I think that came in big for them down the stretch. They hit two deep threes that really hurt us.”
The Warriors battled back to within four points (58-54) with 43 seconds remaining but could get no closer.
Westmont won the battle of the boards in the first half (22-17), but by game’s end Point Loma held a 32-31 rebounding advantage despite 17 offensive rebounds by the Warriors.
“Seventeen o-boards shows our persistence tonight and our aggressiveness,” said Moore. “The frustrating thing for us is that we couldn’t get to the free throw line while Point Loma got to the free throw line 32 times. It’s tough to win a game when someone shoots nearly three times as many free throws as you.”
The Warriors were awarded on 12 free throws.
Nine different Warriors added to the offensive output, led by Jessica Case with 11 points.
While the loss is disappointing for the Warriors, the team has more basketball ahead.
“We are looking forward to regrouping and going to nationals,” said Moore. “I think if we play like we did tonight against a good team on neutral court, we have a good chance of winning some games out there. So our team will keep our confidence up, be excited, go out to Tennessee and try and win some games.”
The Warriors will learn their seeding and first round opponent in the NAIA National Tournament on Thursday. March 12. The tournament, which is conducted in Jackson, Tennessee, will commence on Wednesday, March 18.
