Depth has been a concern for Westmont Women’s Basketball in recent weeks, but tonight the Warrior bench provided the fire-power and the spark needed to propel the Warriors to a 92-88, double-overtime win against the Royals of Hope International on Saturday night.

Freshman guard Vanessa Farias played just 15 minutes for the Warriors but went four for five from beyond the arc to score 14 points. Senior Kelsey Hardeman came off the bench to lead the team with ten rebounds, proving why the Warriors list her as a forward on the roster despite being the shortest player on the team. Hardeman added seven points to the Warriors’ totals.

“That was a great college basketball game,” said Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “There were a lot of great plays on both sides. They hit big shots and we hit shots. It was really fun to be a part of it. I’m really proud of the way my team played and gutted it out. Ultimately, we finally got the stops on defense that we needed to in the second overtime.”

Both teams got off to a slow start with Westmont holding a 6-5 lead seven minutes into the game. Adding to the Warriors’ woes was the loss of freshman post Tawny McCain.

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After starting the game with a 26-2 run, Westmont Women’s Basketball held on to post a 72-71 Golden State Athletic Conference victory over the Eagles of Concordia in Irvine. Westmont led by as much as 28 points (42-14) when Elizabeth Evancoe hit a three-pointer with 7:29 remaining in the first half.

Senior guard Jessica Case, who was celebrating her birthday, scored 10 of the Warriors first 26 points on two long-range shots and two baskets from within the arc.

The Eagles, however, dominated the rest of the half, outscoring the Warriors 20-4 to narrow the lead to 12 (46-34) at the half.

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Senior point guard Amber Stevens tallied 16 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals as Westmont Women’s Basketball cruised to an easy 72-47 win over San Diego Christian (4-16, 1-10 GSAC) on Saturday night in Murchison Gymnasium. Westmont improved to 12-7 overall and 5-6 in Golden State Athletic Conference play.

It was a great team effort tonight and we really improved in the areas we have focused on in practice,” said Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “We set the tone from the tip, rebounding relentlessly, and we played with great confidence, attacking on the offensive end.”

Senior post player Alisha Heglund added another 14 points to the Warrior totals, snatched five rebounds and contributed five assists. Jessica Case and Elizabeth Evancoe added nine points each. Evancoe notched five rebounds and three assists while Case pulled down four boards. Katie Kittle put in eight points and retrieved six rebounds.

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Jessica Case recorded a career-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, but Westmont Women’s Basketball suffered its sixth loss in seven games, falling to #11 Azusa Pacific 73-60. With the road loss, Westmont falls to 11-7 overall and 4-6 in Golden State Athletic Conference play.

The Warriors held a one-point lead (26-25) with 3:48 to play in the first half but the Cougars produced a 7-0 run to close out the first frame and enter the locker room with a 32-26 advantage. After the resumption of play, Azusa pushed their lead to nine points, but Westmont continued to nibble at the Cougar’s lead.

A trey by Case just before the midway point of the second half tied the score at 50. One minute later, Case struck again from beyond the arc to give the Warriors a 53-50 advantage. Azusa recaptured the lead with a 6-0 run but Katie Kittle (11 points, 9 rebounds) tied it again at 56 on a three-point bucket with 7:16 to play in regulation.

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Westmont Women’s Basketball faced a tough challenge in #5 Vanguard (11-2, 7-2 GSAC) on Saturday night and despite a valiant second-half effort, came up on the short side of an 88-68 score. Sophomore guard Katie Kittle posted a career-high 22 points to lead the Warriors offensively.

“Katie is an incredible scorer,” said Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “She can score off the dribble, in transition or on a three-point shot. She has struggled putting the ball in the basket lately, but I love the fact that she continued to believe in herself. Tonight the cover came off that basket for her. I think that happened because of her focus and intensity on rebounding and on our defense. Her eight rebounds, four steals, 22 points and no turnovers was an incredible effort out there tonight.”

The Warriors (11-6, 4-5 GSAC) kept it close for the first eight minutes of the game. Down by four, Kittle drained one of her five three-point buckets to make the score 22-21 with 11:49 left to play in the opening frame. But the Lions outscored the Warriors 25-7 in the remaining 12 minutes to post a 47-28 lead at halftime.

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Alisha Heglund tallied 16 points while making seven of 12 shots from the floor as Westmont Women’s Basketball posted a much-needed 61-54 Golden State Athletic Conference win again the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific (5-13, 2-6 GSAC). With the win, the Warriors improve to 11-5 overall and 4-4 in the GSAC standings.

Westmont continued to struggle from three-point range, missing their first 14 attempts and going just two of 17 from beyond the arc. The Warriors made 48.8% of their two-point attempts (20 of 41). The Sunbirds scored the first eight points of the game and led throughout the first half; taking a 29-23 lead into the locker room at the intermission.

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Point Loma Nazarene (16-1, 7-1 GSAC), the NAIA’s third-ranked team, handed #20 Westmont Women’s Basketball a 67-56 Golden State Athletic Conference loss on Saturday night in San Diego. At halftime, the Warriors and Sea Lions were knotted up at 34-all, but Westmont was held to just 22 second-half points. The Warriors, who have now lost four in a row, are 10-5 overall and 3-4 in GSAC play.

“Our team played with a lot of confidence and did a good job defensively, especially in the first half,” said Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “But we couldn’t sustain our defensive intensity in the second half and we gave up too many easy layups.”

Senior post-player Alisha Heglund (15 points, 5 rebounds), scored the first five points of the game on a three-pointer and a layup. But the Sea Lions roared back with the next six points to take a brief 6-5 lead. Heglund scored again for the Warriors on a jumper before senior shooting guard Jessica Case connected from beyond the arc to give Westmont a 10-6 lead with 14:32 left in the first half.

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Despite a remarkable comeback at the end of regulation, #20 Westmont Women’s Basketball could not contain Biola (8-6, 4-2 GSAC) and lost to the Eagles 88-76 in overtime. With the loss, Westmont falls to 10-4 overall and 3-3 in Golden State Athletic Conference play.

Senior post player Alisha Heglund scored a career high 25 points for the Warriors, going 9 of 16 from the field and six of eight from the free throw line. She also hit a critical three-point shot at the end of regulation.

Down by ten (69-59) with 4:01 to play in the second half, Westmont senior guard Jessica Case drained two free throws to start a 12-0 Warrior run. Nearly a minute later, Case hit the first of two free throws to cut the margin to seven. Case missed her second, but junior forward Angel Blanco nabbed the offensive board and scored on the put-back jumper to pull the Warriors to within five (69-64) at the three minute mark.

Senior point guard Amber Stevens stole the ball on Biola’s next possession and connected on a jumper to make the score 69-66. The margin dropped to one when Case came up with a steal and fed the ball to Stevens who scored on a layup.

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