Warrior Wramblings: Senior trio hits the record books

In 21 seasons of women’s basketball at Westmont, a total of 11 players have eclipsed 1,000 career points. In the last two months, three seniors have achieved the feat, making their class the highest-scoring in school history.

On November 21st, Jessica Case scored 21 points against Occidental to make her the first of the trio to break the millennial mark. On December 30th against Trinity International, Alisha Heglund added her name to the list with a 16-point effort. Just three days later, Dos Pueblos High graduate Amber Stevens rounded out the trio with a nine-point game.

Dos Pueblos High graduate Amber Stevens is one of three Warrior seniors to eclipse 1,000 career-points this season

It is impressive enough for a player to break the 1,000 point mark — let alone three of them — but their achievements don’t stop there.

Combined they have played in 303 games (263 starts). All three of them are in the top 15 for career rebounds at Westmont. Stevens, a point guard, is leading the way with 549 and is 6th on the list. She is 2nd on the career assists tally and first in assists per game. Heglund is already first in career blocks, and Case is in the top ten in all major 3-point shooting categories.

The three of them have been the core of the team in the four years at Westmont, and will go down as one of the greatest classes to ever play for the Warriors.

But don’t just measure their play by individual statistics. In the last four seasons, the Warriors have put up a combined record of 70-35. They’ve made the national tournament the last three years and have a good chance to make it four this season — something no other Westmont basketball team has done before.

The next chance to see them play at Murchison Gym will be Saturday the 23rd as they take on Vanguard, with tip-off is 5:30 p.m.

HOLD THE MARSHMALLOWS, PLEASE: A long time tradition at Westmont came to an end last Tuesday. For years, Warrior fans would throw things on the court (marshmallows, toilet paper, tortillas, bounce balls) after Westmont scored its first points of the rivalry game against Biola. This year, Athletic Director Dave Odell sent an e-mail to all students asking them not to, because the team didn’t want to give up two free-throws for the ensuing technical foul (not a good idea to give away free points to the No. 4 team in the country). The e-mail worked, and the court stayed clean.

Marshmallows rained down on the floor during the 2009 Biola game at Murchison Gym.

POKE’S NO JOKE: Forward John Miller has a distinctive look on the court with his long hair and eye goggles. He’s worn his same protective goggles since he came to Westmont, because in high school he got poked in the eye so many times that doctors said if it happened again he could lose his vision.

One person’s protective gear is another person’s fashion.

John Miller goes up for a dunk.

Kevin Kihlstrom is a senior at Westmont in his third year as the basketball program’s play-by-play announcer.