It came down to the final few seconds, but when the buzzer sounded, the scoreboard declared #3 Vanguard (25-2) a 68-66 winner over Westmont Women’s Basketball (18-13) in the championship game of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament. With the loss, Westmont was eliminated from further postseason play.

Three seniors, playing in what proved to be the final game of their collegiate careers, led the way for the Warriors. Alisha Heglund scored 23 points to lead the Warriors in scoring and had four rebounds. Amber Stevens tallied 13 points, pulled down a team-high eight boards and dished off four assists. Jessica Case scored 10 points, had eight assists and collected four rebounds.

“We played with an incredible Warrior spirit tonight,” said Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “I couldn’t be more proud of our team. Our seniors have had an unbelievable four years and the reason we had the opportunity to be where we were today is because of what they have done for this program and because of what they did on this floor tonight. We set out at the beginning of the year to be a team that played with unity, joy and confidence while we glorified and honored God, and we did that tonight.”

The Warriors got off to a great start, posting a 21-10 advantage in the first eight minutes. Vanguard cut the lead to six, but Westmont responded and posted a 12-point advantage (29-17) on a layup by Elizabeth Evancoe (8 points).

With just over five minutes to play, the Warriors still held a 12 point lead (37-25), but Vanguard closed out the half with a 17-2 run to go into the locker room ahead 42-39.

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Freshman guard Vanessa Farias tallied 20 points and made five of eight from beyond the arc, as Westmont Women’s Basketball advanced to the championship game of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament with an 82-68 win over Hope International on Friday night in Murchison Gymnasium. This is only the second time the Warriors have reached the GSAC championship game.

“During warm up, I just wasn’t feeling it,” acknowledged Farias. “I went over to my assistant coach (Meghan Gnekow) and said, ‘Meghan, my shot is off.’ She came out and shot with me but it wasn’t falling. I was nervous when I went in (the game), but after I made the first one I regained a little bit of confidence.”

“We did a really good job of finding who was hot,” said senior post player Alisha Heglund. “Vanessa was on fire. Against Azusa we executed our game plan but we struggled to find who was shooting well. Going into Point Loma we focused on finding who was hot. I think we did a great job of doing that (again) tonight.”

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Westmont Women’s Basketball will host Hope International on Friday in a Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal game. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Unlike regular season games, students, faculty and staff must purchase tickets for admission. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.

Courtesy of the President’s Office, the first 300 Westmont students will be admitted free of charge.

Ticket prices are as follows:

• Adults (including faculty and staff): $10.00
• Seniors (62+): $8.00
• Students: $6.00
• Children 10 and under: Free

Warriors to Host Semifinal on Friday

Alisha Heglund collected 16 points and 13 rebounds as Westmont Women’s Basketball pulled off a come-from-behind 64-62 victory over the Sea Lions of eighth-ranked Point Loma Nazarene in the first round of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament. The Warriors trailed by 15 points (49-34) with eleven minutes remaining in regulation, but outscored the Sea Lions 30-13 to advance to the semifinals on Friday night.

Westmont, which entered the GSAC Tournament as the number six seed, will host Hope International, the number seven seed, on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Murchison Gymnasium. The Royals upset seventh-ranked Azusa Pacific 76-67 to earn their way into the semifinals.

“I feel like we have been on the verge of this victory for a really long time,” said Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “The last couple of games we have been so close to upsetting some of these really great teams we have been playing. We have a group of senior who didn’t want this to be their last game and the team rallied around them. It wasn’t always pretty, but we kept believing it could happen.”

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Elizabeth Evancoe scored 26 points and Amber Stevens came within a point of a triple-double, but it wasn’t enough as the Westmont Women’s Basketball (16-12, 9-11 GSAC) fell by a score of 82-74 to #24 Azusa Pacific (25-5, 18-2 GSAC). With the win, Azusa Pacific claims a share of the Golden State Athletic Conference Regular season title with Vanguard.

The Warriors led by as much as 14 points in the second half, but with 7:17 remaining in regulation, Azusa Pacific’s C.J. Hill (17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) laid the ball in the net to tie the score at 65-all. The Warriors briefly regained the lead on one of Evancoe’s four three pointers, but the Cougars closed out the game on a 17-9 run.

“It was an incredible effort by our entire team tonight,” said Moore. “I felt like our players gave everything they had out there on the court. For most of the game, we out played them. My seniors were great and my underclassmen were great playing to honor the seniors. Elizabeth Evancoe led the way, hitting everything from the field. Everyone knows she can hit threes but she did a lot of other things tonight in scoring 26 points.”
“It was an incredible effort by our entire team tonight,” said Moore. “I felt like our players gave everything they had out there on the court. For most of the game, we out played them. My seniors were great and my underclassmen were great playing to honor the seniors. Elizabeth Evancoe led the way, hitting everything from the field. Everyone knows she can hit threes but she did a lot of other things tonight in scoring 26 points.”

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Westmont Women’s Basketball (16-11, 9-10 GSAC) had hoped to make a statement in Costa Mesa against the number three ranked team in the NAIA, but was unable to tame the Lions of Vanguard (21-2, 17-2 GSAC). The Warriors fell 94-80 in the Golden State Athletic Conference contest.

“Overall, I was really proud of our teams’ effort,” said Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “I thought we played extremely hard and with a lot of heart. We played like we believed we could win that game.”

All five of the Warriors’ starters reached double-figures. Senior post Alisha Heglund recorded 18 points while making seven of eleven attempts from the floor. Senior shooting guard Jessica Case recorded 17 points and tallied five assist. Senior point guard Amber Stevens added 16 points, 9 rebounds and three assists.

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For the second time this season, senior point guard Amber Stevens nearly recorded a triple-double as Westmont Women’s Basketball (16-10, 9-9 GSAC) earned a 73-59 Golden State Athletic Conference win over Fresno Pacific (7-21, 4-14 GSAC) on Tuesday night. Stevens recorded 13 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and five steals for the Warriors.

“Amber was amazing tonight,” said Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “She did everything for us out there on the court.”

The Warriors know that every game is critical from here on out if they hope to return to Jackson, Tennessee to participate in the NAIA National Championship for the fourth year in a row.

“We’re trying to build on our record to head into postseason,” said Stevens. “I want to go to nationals and I have to do whatever it takes to be there for my team.”

Senior shooting guard Jessica Case poured in 23 points to lead the Warriors in scoring and also pulled down five rebounds. Senior post player Alisha Heglund added 12 points and four boards to the Warriors totals while sophomore guard Katie Kittle dropped in 11 points, collected four rebounds and dished off four assists.

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Despite 28 points from senior shooting guard Jessica Case, Westmont Women’s Basketball (15-10, 8-9 GSAC) suffered an 88-76 Golden State Athletic Conference loss to #8 Point Loma Nazarene (24-3, 15-3 GSAC). The Warriors trailed 21-6 midway through the first half and could never get closer than three points early in the second half.

Case made nine of 20 shots from the floor including a remarkable seven of 14 from three-point range. She needs just seven more three-pointers to reach 200 for her career.

Senior post player Alisha Heglund scored 18 points for the Warriors and pulled down eight rebounds while senior point guard Amber Stevens collected eight points and nine assists.

Westmont shot only 31.0% from the field in the first half (9 of 29) but improved to 44.1% in the second half (15 of 34).

“Our seniors played an excellent second half,” said Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “They played with a sense of urgency and with a lot of confidence in the second half. We struggled with our intensity in the first half. I’m not quite sure why that was the case, but it definitely hurt us and cost us the game.

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