The 18th-ranked team in the NAIA looked pretty darn good in its first game of the season at Murchison Gym.
The Westmont women’s basketball squad got 21 points — 16 in the first half — from senior guard Jessica Case and 17 more in the post from Alisha Heglund in an 89-75 trouncing of Occidental on Friday night.
“I feel good about this game. We’ve been on the road for six games and I think the girls were pretty excited to be back here,” said coach Kirsten Moore.
There was a Dos Pueblos Charger contingent in the stands to see Westmont point guard Amber Stevens face off against fellow Charger Gillian Nugent. Stevens fluidly weaved her way through the Tiger defense all night and showed that she’s a triple threat with eight assists, seven points and six rebounds.
“We’ve played the last two years against each other, and it was just fun competition,” said Stevens of facing her friend Nugent, a senior for the Tigers who finished with seven points and three boards in 24 minutes of court-time.
Case knocked down a trey 80 seconds the game and was lights out for the rest of the half, going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Westmont had a 10-point lead and led every major statistical heading into the break.
“Jessica really got the momentum going for us on the offensive end, and I really think that helped us gain the advantage in the first half,” said Moore.
Westmont came out on fire in the second half, going on a 10-0 run that began four minutes on and included back-to-back 3-pointers from Elizabeth Evancoe. The hosts’ lead grew as big as 21 after a Stevens lay-up with 4:40 remaining.
The Warriors have three 4-year starters on the team this year (Case, Stevens and Heglund), but the young freshman contingent came in and was impressive. Jillian Wilber needed just 10 minutes to score 10 points, and she also took a charge. Larissa Hensley had four points and dished out three assists in 13 minutes.
“I had a blast watching them and they did great,” said Case. “They hit some really big shots for us and kept our lead, which was great to see early in the season because they’ll help us later on when we need them to.”
The Warriors are now 4-0, having already swept through the Westminster Tournament in Salt Lake City last week. Next up is a road game at Redlands on Tuesday.
