Westmont Women’s Basketball (16-11, 9-10 GSAC) had hoped to make a statement in Costa Mesa against the number three ranked team in the NAIA, but was unable to tame the Lions of Vanguard (21-2, 17-2 GSAC). The Warriors fell 94-80 in the Golden State Athletic Conference contest.
“Overall, I was really proud of our teams’ effort,” said Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “I thought we played extremely hard and with a lot of heart. We played like we believed we could win that game.”
All five of the Warriors’ starters reached double-figures. Senior post Alisha Heglund recorded 18 points while making seven of eleven attempts from the floor. Senior shooting guard Jessica Case recorded 17 points and tallied five assist. Senior point guard Amber Stevens added 16 points, 9 rebounds and three assists.
Katie Kittle made four of eight shots from the field including three from beyond the arc to tally 13 points. The sophomore also pulled down seven boards and dished off four assists. Junior forward Elizabeth Evancoe added 12 points, four rebounds and three assists to the Warrior totals.
“We had an attacking mentality offensively against their trap,” said Moore. “We had good looks and fought for things offensively, we just weren’t able to get enough stops on defense.”
The Warriors were within three points (37-34) with just over four minutes remaining in the first half. But the Lions closed out the half with an 11-4 run to take a 48-38 lead into the locker room. Vanguard never relinquished their double-digit advantage in the second half.
With one game left in the GSAC regular season, Vanguard shares the top spot in the conference standings with #7 Azusa Pacific (24-5, 17-2 GSAC). #8 Point Loma has completed their GSAC schedule and is one-half game behind the leaders at 17-3 (26-3 overall.). The twenty-first ranked Eagles of Biola (18-10, 13-6 GSAC) claim fourth place in the conference standings and have earned the final home game in the upcoming GSAC Tournament which begins on Wednesday, March 3.
The Master’s (15-12) is in fifth place, three games behind Biola at 10-9. Westmont is the sixth team in the GSAC, one game behind The Master’s. The Warriors have a two game lead over Hope International (12-17, 7-12 GSAC) which is in seventh place. There is currently a tie for eighth place and the final spot in the GSAC Tournament between California Baptist (12-17) and Fresno Pacific (8-21) who both have 5-14 GSAC records.
The Warriors will celebrate Senior Night on Monday before Westmont hosts Azusa Pacific at 5:30 p.m. The GSAC Tournament will see the Warriors traveling for first round action on Wednesday to take on whichever team ends up third in the conference.
