Jessica Case came up big with 21 points in the second half to help lead the Westmont women’s basketball team to a 73-59 over visiting Fresno Pacific on Tuesday, ending a three-game skid.
Case had a slow start for the Warriors, finishing the first half with two points, making none of her first five 3-point attempts.
“I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn in the first half,” said Case. “My coaches and teammates encouraging me really helped a ton. They reminded me that I always make my shots in the second half for some reason.”
She never lost her confidence and continued to fire away, making six field goals, including two from beyond the arc, after the break. She also made all seven of her free-throw attempts.
It was a strong night for all the seniors, including Amber Stevens who had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, finishing two assists away from a triple-double. Her defense was also strong, as she finished the game with five steals. Alisha Heglund had 12 points and four rebounds, and Kelsey Hardeman rounded it off for the seniors, finishing with six points and nine rebounds — including five on the offensive end.
With 1:50 left in the first half, the Warriors had a comfortable nine-point lead, but the SunBirds came up with a 6-0 run to end the first half, starting with layup by Melissa Flores (11 points, 6 rebounds) in the paint. Jessica Mazza (9 points, 6 rebounds) made her free-throw attempts with 51 seconds left, then went to the line again with 29 seconds left. She made the first one and missed the second, but Flores came down with an offensive rebound and went to the free-throw line and made one to cut it down to three points heading into the intermission.
“We had a good start tonight, but Fresno battled back and made it close by half time,” said coach Kirsten Moore. “We knew we were in a battle in the second half.”
With just under five minutes to go, Jessica Torrecillas (17 points, 11 rebounds) made both of her free throws to cut it the Westmont lead to three.
That’s when the Warriors turned on the after-burners.
With 3:03 to go the hosts went on an 8-0 run capped of by free throws by Case, giving them a 13-point lead. They were never challenged after that.
Santa Barbara High grad Brandi Blackwell, a freshman at Frenso Pacific, went 6-for-9 from the floor en route to 12 points. She also had two steals and three rebounds.
The win gives Westmont a 16-10 record overall, and a 9-9 mark in GSAC. The Sunbirds fall to 7-21, 4-14.
The Warriors’ next game will be Saturday at No. 3 Vanguard (20-2, 16-2). Tipoff will be at 5:30 p.m.
