Senior forward Tugce Canitez added two more Westmont records to her resume as the fourth-ranked Warriors (8-1) posted a 71-60 win over William Jessup (5-7).
Canitez established a new single game scoring record of 43 points and a new mark for free throws made in a single game at 16. With 13 rebounds, Canitez notched her fourth double-double of the season.
The Warriors fell behind 15-7 early in the first half before an 11-0 run gave Westmont an 18-15 advantage. The final eight points of the run were scored by Canitez and marked the beginning of her 14-straight Warrior points.
With 6:10 remaining in the first half, Westmont was up 24-10 with Canitez having scored 18 of the Warriors points. At halftime, Canitez had put up 20 points and the Warriors possessed a 32-25 lead.
With 14:26 to play, the Warriors took their first double-digit lead (43-33) on a layup by Canitez. Westmont kept its double-digit margin until William Jessup’s Ashley Rose laid the ball in the net with 7:59 remaining to make the score 53-45.
With 2:51 remaining in regulation, Rose hit a jumper to make it a five point game, prompting Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore to call a timeout. When the teams took to the floor again, Canitez fed the ball to junior guard Erin Beadle (3 points, 3 rebounds) who drained a three-pointer to put the Warriors up 66-58 with 2:32 to go.
Canitez scored her fortieth point on a jumper with just under two minutes remaining in regulation, putting Westmont up 68-58. William Jessup scored once more on a layup by Nicole McDonald before Canitez added three free throws to account for the final score.
As a team, Westmont shot 43.9 percent from the floor (25 of 57) while holding William Jessup to 37.5 percent (24 of 64). Canitez posted a field goal percentage of 65.0 (13 of 20) and was 80.0 percent from the free throw line (16 of 20).
Celina Gougis and Lauren Sende each added nine points to the Warrior point total and helped patrol the boards with six and eight rebounds respectively.
William Jessup was led in scoring by Rose who had 20 points and Sarah Petersen who tallied 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Canitez now holds 15 Westmont single season and single game records including single season scoring (669 points) and rebounding (368 boards).
The Warriors take the next two weeks off from competition and then host the GSAC Challenge on Friday and Saturday, December 28 and 29. On Friday, Westmont will take on #8 Oklahoma City, the defending NAIA National Champion. Then on Saturday, Westmont will face off with #5 Westminster (Utah). Both games are scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start.
