Westmont women’s basketball, ranked number six nationally in the NAIA, picked up its twenty-fifth win of the season on Saturday night as the Warriors defeated Concordia (7-16, 4-12 GSAC) by a score of 71-47 in a Golden State Athletic Conference game.
With the win, the Warriors (25-2, 15-1) secured home court advantage throughout the upcoming GSAC Tournament, a berth in the NAIA National Tournament and at least a share of the GSAC regular season championship.
“It was a good, focused effort by our team tonight,” said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. “It is the end of the season and we have a lot to play for. We executed well and were able to take advantage of some of our strengths – particularly inside. Our post did a good job inside, but we were also aggressive on the perimeter. Katie (Kittle) hit threes in the first half which opened things up. I thought we had a balanced effort out there. It was great to have contributions from everyone.”
Junior Tugce Canitez tallied 22 points on nine-of-14 shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds.
“Tugce did a great job staying composed,” said Moore. “Concordia was trying to take her out of the game, but she was able to get second chance opportunities and make great passes to her teammates. Obviously, she was able to score a lot.”
Senior post player Lisa Peterson added 11 points and seven boards to the Warrior totals while Kittle contributed 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.
With the score 8-6 early in the first half, Westmont went on a 10-0 run and never looked back. At halftime, the Warriors had a 17-point lead (36-19). The Eagles were never closer than 16 in the second half.
On Tuesday, the Warriors will have an opportunity to win the Golden State Athletic Conference regular season championship outright when they host the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific (13-15, 5-11).
“We have been working all year to win the GSAC Championship,” said Moore. “We want to finish strong and win a championship. It is something that we have never done. We are on the verge of being able to complete a lot of great work.”
Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Murchison Gymnasium.
