Tugce Canitez turned in a dominating performance, scoring 28 points and grabbing 22 rebounds to power the Westmont women’s basketball team to a 73-64 GSAC win at Hope International on Saturday night.
The play of Canitez and Kelsie Sampson helped the Warriors bounce back from a 41-29 halftime deficit. Down 57-56 with 5:19 remaining on the second-half clock, Canitez and Sampson (20 points, 8 rebounds) connected on back-to-back layups to spark a 9-0 Warrior run. After Celina Gougis (11 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists) drained two free throws, Canitez converted an ‘and-one’ play to put the Warriors up 65-57 with 2:30 to go.
Westmont’s defense held Hope to 6 for 28 shooting in the second half.
Westmont is now 10-0 in the GSAC and 19-3 overall. Hope is 3-7, 11-14.
