Five Warriors scored in double figures as Westmont Women’s Basketball recorded a 73-52 win over Northwest Christian in the season opener for both teams. Angel Blanco scored her sixth point just two minutes and thirty-four seconds into the contest to give the Warriors a 6-5 lead – a lead they did not relinquish.
“Angel did a great job getting us started. She scored on our first three or four possessions,” said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. “It is early in the season and it was really nice to get a win under our belt. I thought that we improved on a lot of things from last game. Our balanced offensive attack is going to be a real asset for us. Our ability to make some adjustments at halftime and execute much better in the second half was the highlight of the game for us.”
Katie Kittle made six of ten attempts from the field and led the Warriors with 14 points. Blanco notched 13 points and five rebounds. Vanessa Farias and Kelsie Sampson each scored 11 with Farias adding seven steals and four assists and Sampson pulling down six boards. Elizabeth Evancoe added another 10 points and five rebounds.
“Vanessa played great off the bench,” said Moore. “She did a good job of getting the ball inside, taking care of the basketball and on defense, making things happen.
“I was very pleased with our team’s energy and with the intensity that we played with,” reported Moore. “But, in the first half, we just didn’t execute. We had energy, but it wasn’t a focused energy. We talked about that at halftime and about focusing on the things we needed to do better which were to rebound, to play defense without fouling and to be more aggressive on the offensive end. We did a lot better at that in the second half. We out-rebounded them by 11 in the second half and did a better job at the free throw line.”
The Warriors stretched the lead to as much as ten in the first half (26-16), but by halftime, the Beacons had cut Westmont’s advantage in half (37-32). Four and one-half minutes into the second half, the Warriors regained a double-digit margin (45-34) on a jumper by Evancoe and stretched the lead from there to as much as 23 (70-47).
“I think our attack will be successful if we are able to take care of the ball, get the ball inside out and work from the inside out,” said Moore about the future of her teams offensive firepower. “Our post players have been doing a good job in there finishing and they are also very good passers. We combine that with our perimeter shooting. We have some very good shooters on the perimeter.”
The Warriors will take tomorrow to prepare for an exhibition on Sunday afternoon against Moore’s alma mater – Oregon. Tip-off is schedule for 2:00 p.m.
