It wasn’t the way head coach Kirsten Moore had scripted the final game of the regular season. Twenty-third ranked Westmont Women’s Basketball (20-8, 12-8 GSAC) found itself playing catch-up to Concordia (15-11, 10-10) most of the night and when the final buzzer sounded, came up on the short side of a 66-64 score.
The Warriors had tied the score at 64-all on a jumper by Lisa Peterson (17 points) with 20 seconds remaining, However, the Eagle’s Nicole Fu (17 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds) scored on a jumper with three seconds left in regulation to give Concordia the win.
The Warriors were led in scoring by Vanessa Farias who tallied 19 points while making seven of 11 attempts from the floor. From three-point range, Farias connected on four of eight attempts. Katie Kittle added 13 points and six rebounds for the Warriors while Angle Blanco totaled six points and eight rebounds.
Concordia was led in scoring by Tyler Howard with 20 points, fueled by four of nine shooting from beyond the arc.
Despite the loss, the Warriors will host a first round Golden State Athletic Conference playoff game on Wednesday, March 2. Vanguard, who entered the day tied with Westmont for fourth place, lost 71-70 to The Master’s and therefore remains tied with the Warriors at season’s end. Because the Warriors own the tiebreaker between the two clubs, Westmont will host Vanguard at Murchison Gymnasium.
Among the GSAC’s other first round games will be top-seeded and third-ranked Azusa Pacific (26-4, 18-2) hosting Point Loma Nazarene (13-15, 8-12). The second seed in the GSAC tournament is #6 California Baptist (23-7, 16-4) who will host The Master’s (17-12, 10-10). Eighth-ranked Biola is the number three seed in the tournament and will host Concordia.
