Fourth ranked and number one seed Westmont Women’s Basketball held on to defeat Lyon (20-12) of Arkansas 59-57 in the first round of the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship presented by Kentuckytourism.com.
The Warriors (30-3) advance to the second round on Friday to take on St. Xavier (24-8) of Illinois at 12:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. PDT).
CLICK HERE TO VIEW BOX SCORE
“It wasn’t our best game, but we haven’t played in a while,” said Westmont junior point guard Larissa Hensley. “We’re just getting back into things, being on the court for the first time. We got a win. We can focus on the next team now.”
“The name of the game in March is to survive and advance,” said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. “To get the first win under your belt is huge. I feel confident that we are going to come back and shoot the ball much better tomorrow and play with a lot of confidence. Our players are excited and there is a lot to play for.”
Both teams exhibited first game jitters as the first seven combined possessions resulted in six turnovers. The Warriors seemed to find their game first and went up 11-0 in the first five minutes.
With 13:14 remaining in the first half, Tugce Canitez (19 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists) put the Warriors up 13-2. It prove to be the last points the Warriors would score for the next four and one-half minutes as Lyon narrowed the scoring margin to just three (13-10).
Field goals by Katie Kittle (18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) and Lisa Peterson (7 points, 5 rebounds) put Westmont up 17-10 with five minutes remaining in the low scoring half that ended with the score 23-18 in favor of the Warriors.
Westmont outrebounded Lyon 30-16 in the first half on its way to a 49-34 advantage for the game. In addition to Cantiez 17 rebounds, Hensely (4 points) tallied eight boards.
“We went into the game knowing that one of their weaknesses was getting defensive boards,” said Hensley. “So we knew we had to get O-boards. I really focused on that. None of our shots were going in so it was a perfect opportunity to get in there and get a board.”
“Larissa has been playing great lately and making a lot of big plays when we need them,” said Moore. “She is making a lot of offensive rebounds and giving us second chance opportunities. She is directing traffic and running the offense really well and getting the ball where it needs to go. On a night when she wasn’t hitting her open looks, she did a lot of other things well for us.”
“Tugce was awesome,” continued the coach. “Those are some serious numbers – 17 rebounds and 19 points. I think we are going to continue to see more and more out of Tugce every opportunity we get to play. She likes the most competitive environments.”
Shortly after the game, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced that Canitez is one of three candidates for the WBCA NAIA Player of the Year award. The winner will be announced during the second annual WBCA Awards Show on Monday, April 2, in Denver
The second half started better for the Warriors who turned their five-point halftime lead into an 11-point advantage (33-22) in the first five minutes.
“We talked about how important it was not to wait until the end of the game but to have a lead going into the last few minutes. We were able to get that lead and give ourselves a cushion to absorb their run down the stretch.”
Westmont took its largest lead of the game (51-39) with 6:43 to play on a basket by Hensley and was up by 11 with 3:24 remaining when Kittle made it 57-46 with a three-pointer. However, the Warriors would not score again until the clock read 0.4.
After Christine Smith made two free throws for Lyon, Whitney Keith (5 points, 7 rebounds) hit a field goal to make the score 57-50 with 1:32 left in regulation. With one minute to go, Keith made one of two free throws, reducing Westmont’s margin to 57-51.
Twelve seconds later, Erin Roush nailed a shot from beyond the arc to cut the margin to three (57-54).
After Aubrey Lincoln (11 rebounds, 5 rebounds) missed the front end of a one-and-one, the Lyon’s Rachel Schellenberger tried to score but was rejected by Kittle. Canitez collected the ball and was fouled.
After Canitez also missed the front end of a one-and-one and Lauren Ramsey (10 points, 5 rebounds) grabbed the defensive rebound, the Scots called a time out. When play resumed Roush was called for traveling with 14 second remaining, returning the ball into Warrior hands.
With 10 seconds left, Aubrey Lincoln (11 rebounds, 5 rebounds) was fouled, missed one free throw attempt but made the second to put the Warriors up 58-54. Four seconds later, Lyon’s Altom Phagen (23 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) drilled a three-pointer to make it a one point game at 58-57.
The Warriors inbounded the ball and Canitez was fouled with just 0.4 seconds left on the clock. Canitez made the first free throw and missed the second. The clock expired as the teams scrambled for the rebound.
“We were trying to stay calm,” said Hensley of the Scots’ late charge. “They are the best three-point shooting team in the nation and we knew that was how they were going to try and get back into it. I thought we played pretty good defense on their threes and they still were hitting them. It was just staying with what we know best and staying composed. We didn’t hit free throws, but we hit the ones we needed enough to seal the win.
“We are not too happy with the way we played but we are really excited that we won,” said Hensley. “We get a chance to go on and play another game tomorrow. Now there are only four more games to the championship.
The Warriors will match-up with Saint Xavier after the Cougars defeated Campbellsville (Ky.) 75-57.
“We are playing a team tomorrow that played outstanding today,” said Moore. “As poorly as we shoot the ball today, they shot the ball well. I think they shot 55%. We are going to have to defend them. In some ways it is similar to what we prepared for today because Lyon is a good shooting team. Since we don’t have much time to prepare, it’s good that we are going to be facing a similar team with good shooters.”
