(ROCKLIN, Calif.) Krissy Karr led the way with 13 points and Aysia Shellmire recorded a double-double as #16 Westmont Women’s Basketball (13-3, 1-3 GSAC) defeated William Jessup (1-14, 0-5) by a score of 69-41 in a Golden State Athletic Conference match-up. Shellmire recorded 10 points and 12 rebounds in the battle between two teams that share a nickname.
“We have been focusing on our defense and getting momentum off of our defense,” said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. “We did that very well tonight and disrupted their offensive flow.
“Krissy shot the ball very well – going three for four from the three-point line – and did a good job of leading us.”
An early 8-0 run by Westmont resulted in a 12-4 lead for the team from Montecito. William Jessup cut the lead to 14-9 when Cara Tortorich (5 points) nailed a three-pointer, but Westmont responded with a 12-2 run to go up 26-11 with six minutes remaining in the opening frame. By halftime, Westmont was up 38-22.
The second half saw Westmont extend its advantage to as much as 34 points (65-31).
Given her team’s advantage on the scoreboard, Moore was able to be generous to the reserves with playing time. None of the 13 Westmont players tallied more than 20 minutes and none played less than nine.
“It was wonderful to be able to get everyone in the game,” said Moore. “They all played a lot of great minutes and made some good things happen. It was a good team effort.”
Celina Gougis used her 13 minutes of court time to produce nine points and three rebounds. Aimee Brakken scored eight points in 16 minutes.
William Jessup was led in scoring by Diana Corona who tallied 10 points. Rona Chavez added nine points and 10 rebounds.
The Warriors shot 38.6 percent from the floor (27 of 70) while holding William Jessup to an even 30 percent (18-60). More significantly, Westmont pulled down 54 rebounds (23 from the offensive glass) compared to 39 total rebounds for William Jessup.
“I thought Aysia Shellmire and Lauren McCoy (4 points, 7 rebounds) were great on the boards for us again tonight,” said Moore. “The team is really focused in and on a mission right now. Tonight was our first GSAC win. Game by game, we are going to try and climb back up to where we want to be.
On its circuitous route home, Westmont will stop by UC Santa Cruz (12-5) on Thursday for a non-conference game with the NCAA Division III Banana Slugs at 5:00 p.m.
