Katie Kittle and Tugce Canitez each scored 20 points and Aubrey Lincoln added another 15 as Westmont Women’s Basketball defeated Biola (21-10) by the score of 84-56 in a semifinal game of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament.
With the win, the Warriors (28-3) advance to Monday’s championship game where they will meet up with the Cougars of Azusa Pacific (24-6). The second-seeded Cougars won the right to make the trip to Santa Barbara by virtue of a 73-66 win over third-seeded Vanguard (23-6) in the other semifinal game.
As a result of the Cougars’ victory, Azusa Pacific earns the second automatic bid from the GSAC to the NAIA National Tournament. Westmont claimed the GSAC’s first automatic bid by finishing first in the regular season standings. Both Biola and Vangaurd are expected to receive at-large invitations to nationals, which begin on March 14 in Frankfurt, Kentucky.
“I thought there were some things that we did well, tonight,” said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. “Obviously, we shot the ball well. Aubrey got us going early on and was shooting with a lot of confident. It was great to see her playing like that after a tough game last game. I thought we were efficient offensively.”
The Warriors made 53.4 percent (31 of 58) of their field goal attempts in the game including 60 percent in the first half (15 of 25). Over the first 13 and one-half minutes of the opening frame, the Warriors outscored the Eagles 32-12 to game a 20-point advantage. At the halfway mark, Westmont held a 14-point lead, 36-22.
“In the second half, we needed to be tighter with our rebounding and preventing the other team from getting second chances,” said Moore. That needs to be a focus.”
“I thought Katie gave us a huge spark in the second half when they cut our lead to 11. We called a couple of time outs consecutively. Out of the second timeout, Katie made a change in the effort she was giving, particularly on the offensive boards.”
Kittle produced seven rebounds while Canitez and Tawny McCain each had six. Lincoln and Kelsie Sampson added another five each.
“Erin (Beadle) said that she felt 100 percent tonight,” said Moore, referring to the sophomore point guard’s return from injury. “We have been pacing her and trying to get her back. It makes a big difference for us. That will be one difference between Monday’s game and the last time we played them.
“It is an exciting opportunity,” continued Moore about the championship match-up with Azusa Pacific. “You have two teams that split with each other in the regular season. Both are really talented. Both have good inside games and good outside games. It is a great match-up in college basketball and we get to play for a championship. What’s not to love about that scenario? Having a chance to cut down nets and playing the best teams to get to do it is what college basketball is all about. A good team is going to win on Monday and it is going to be fun to go out there and battle.”
