Alisha Heglund tallied 16 points while making seven of 12 shots from the floor as Westmont Women’s Basketball posted a much-needed 61-54 Golden State Athletic Conference win again the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific (5-13, 2-6 GSAC). With the win, the Warriors improve to 11-5 overall and 4-4 in the GSAC standings.
Westmont continued to struggle from three-point range, missing their first 14 attempts and going just two of 17 from beyond the arc. The Warriors made 48.8% of their two-point attempts (20 of 41). The Sunbirds scored the first eight points of the game and led throughout the first half; taking a 29-23 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
“It felt great to get a win tonight,” said Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “I couldn’t have been prouder of the way my team battled in the second half. We still struggled shooting the ball and really struggled in the first half to get any kind of momentum. But we had some great leadership. A number of different people really stepped up and decided we were going to do whatever it took to win this game. I thought our energy, our communication and our defense in the second half was incredible.”
Down 33-25 in the second half, the Warriors produced an 8-0 run to tie the score at 33. Junior forward
Angel Blanco started the run with a jumper, assisted by freshman guard Larissa Hensley. Thirty seconds later, Hensley passed the ball to Stevens for a layup, making the score 33-29. Heglund narrowed the gap to two points on a jumper and then scored again with just over 14 minutes remaining as Westmont tied the score for the first time.
“At halftime, the team really took it on themselves to take ownership about the direction they wanted this season to go in and what they want to be about,” said Moore. “They showed a desire to fight through adversity and to find ways to win and to play with passion. Jessica Case was just determined to make our team win – even when she was cheering on the bench because of foul trouble. She was a great teammate tonight. Her energy and communication on the defensive end was key. She was aggressive and played with confidence.
Westmont did not take the lead until the second-half clock read 8:31. That’s when junior guard Elizabeth Evancoe sank the Warriors’ first three-pointer to put the Warriors up 43-42. A bucket by the Sunbird’s Jessica Thompson restored the led to Fresno Pacific, before Jessica Case also scored from long distance to give the Warriors a 46-44 lead with 7:04 left in regulation. The Warriors never trailed again.
“Our press forced 28 turnovers which gave us the opportunity to win the game,” said Moore. “And then we went to the free throw line and made all of our free throws down the stretch.”
In other GSAC action, #5 Vanguard claimed a home win over Concordia 95-44. #22 Biola defeated the #23 The Master’s 67-62 in La Mirada. #11 Azusa earned a 71-56 road victory over Hope International. The game between California Baptist and Point Loma Nazarene was postponed until tomorrow night due to a power outage in San Diego.
Westmont will host Vanguard on Saturday at Murchison Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
