Westmont Women’s Basketball (1-0), ranked at number seven in the NAIA, took on the Bruins of UCLA on Monday evening in the John Wooden Center. The Warriors fell 73-43 in the exhibition game in front of 537 fans.
Tonight’s game marks the third year in a row that the Warriors have faced a PAC-12 team in an exhibition. Last year Westmont played at USC. Two years ago, Westmont matched up with Oregon.
Tugce Canitez led all players with 18 points. She also recorded eight rebounds and two blocks. Junior guard Dori Lansbach added seven points for the Warriors while senior point guard Larissa Hensley contributed another six.
UCLA was led by Alyssia Brewer with 17 points and a game high 12 rebounds. Four other Bruins also scored in double figures with Markel Walker posting 13 points and six rebounds, Atonye Nyingifa recording 12 points and five rebounds, Nirra Fields tallying 10 points and eight boards and Kacy Swain notching 10 points and six rebounds.
The Warriors were outrebounded 52-31. The Bruins forced 24 turnovers, including 18 steals. The Warriors had seven steals, three by junior guard Lauren Rock. Rock also tallied five points and pulled down four rebounds.
The game started slowly with the both teams struggling to score. More than three minutes into the game, the score was tied at two-to-two. Over the next three-minutes, the Bruins outscored the Warriors 6-0. Rock finally hit the Warrior’s first field goal more than six minutes into the game, making it an 8-4 score. The scoring picked up the pace from there, especially for the Bruins, resulting in a 36-23 halftime score.
Canitez outscored the Bruins 7-3 in the first three and one-half minutes of the second half to make it a 39-30 ball game. However, the Bruins responded with an 11-0 run to take command of the game.
The Warriors continue non-conference play on Thursday when they travel to Azusa to take on the Cougars of Azusa Pacific. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
