Two of Westmont’s coaches and two athletes were honored at the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table’s 42nd Annual Hall of Fame Banquet on Monday night at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara.

Westmont Assistant Basketball Coach Jeff Azain was inducted into the SBART Hall of Fame in recognition of his accomplishments on the basketball court both in both high school and college.

“In 1980 and 81, Jeff was the leading rebounder in the Channel League and CIF,” said Maury Halleck who coached Azain at San Marcos High School and introduced him at the event. “The thing about Jeff is that for two years the San Marcos Royals never lost a game, they were 52-0. Jeff is the guy who gave all of his teammates second chances and was one of the best I ever had. He was not only a good athlete, but also a great man.”

“Two words come to mind when accepting this award,” said Azain to the audience. “The first is ‘blessed’. I was fortunate enough to play for two great men - Coach Halleck at San Marcos High School and Coach Kammerer at Westmont College. They were both great coaches, but more importantly that coaching basketball, they taught me about life and how to be a better man.

The 2008-09 season came to an end tonight for #16 Westmont Women’s Basketball as the team suffered a 63-51 loss to #17 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in the first round of the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Tournament. The Warriors ended the season with a record of 22-9, matching the highest win total of any previous year and setting the best season winning percentage in Warrior history.

Lindsey Wilson (25-8) will advance to play top-seeded and top-ranked Union (Tennessee) which boasts a record of 33-1 after defeating Jarvis Christian (Texas) this evening 86-58.

“This is obviously not the outcome that we wanted,” said Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “I thought we came in well prepared and with a good mentality and I thought we played really hard. But Lindsey Wilson played extremely well. I give them a lot of credit for the way that they play.”

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Westmont Women’s Basketball will begin play Wednesday in the 2009 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship in Jackson, Tennessee when they face Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at 9:45 p.m. CDT. But no matter what happens on the court during this week’s games, Westmont has already been declared a champion.

At Tuesday’s, Banquet of Champions held at the Carl Perkins Civic Center in downtown Jackson, Westmont was named the recipient of the 2009 Buffalo Funds Five Star Champions of Character Award.

“I am excited for the players and their ability to keep their character first through all the adversity we have been through,” noted Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore. “I’m glad their commitment to that character was honored tonight. I am honored to coach these women. For others to see a little bit of who they are is really important to me.”

Westmont Women’s Basketball, number 16 in the final NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball rankings, will face #17 Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in the first round of the 2009 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship on March 18. Wednesday’s game, which will be the first meeting between the two teams, is scheduled to tip off at 9:45 p.m. CDT.

The national tournament is comprised of a field of 32 teams divided into four sections of eight teams each. The Warriors (22-8) are ranked at number four in their section while the Blue Raiders (24-8) are ranked at number 5. All 31 tournament games are played at the Oman Arena in Jackson, Tennessee with eight first round games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. The Westmont-Lindsey Wilson game will be the final game played on the tournament’s opening day.

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For the second year in a row, Westmont point guard Amber Stevens has been named to the All-Golden State Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Team.

“Amber is an incredible player and I am really glad that she continues to be recognized for what she brings to this team and how she has helped us succeed,” said head coach Kirsten Moore. “She has been an important key to helping us have a successful season.”

The junior, an alumna of Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, averaged 9.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Stevens ranks fourth in the conference in assists (4.6/game), sixth in field goal percentage (52.6%), and eighth in steals (2.23). Her assist-to-turnover ratio was third best in the GSAC at 2.09.

“Amber has been a leader for us on both the offensive and defensive end of the court,” said Moore. “She has been a stopper for us and a spark that is able to create opportunities for us off of her defense. She has continued to develop her offensive game and her leadership at the point guard position. Her competitiveness and her fight to help our team be the best has really pushed us to continue to improve.”

In a well contested game by both teams, #8 Point Loma Nazarene withstood the relentless attacks of #17 Westmont to claim a 62-54 semifinal win in the final Golden State Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament. By virtue of the win, Point Loma Nazarene will advance to thechampionship game on Monday night at Vanguard which defeated Azusa Pacific 73-71 in the other semifinal.

“I thought we played with a lot of heart and a lot of effort tonight,” said head coach Kirsten Moore. “It was a tough, grind-out basketball game – a real defensive effort by both teams.”

Alisha Heglund (8 points, 3 rebounds) started the scoring in the game by making just her second three-pointer of the year. That started a back-and-forth battle between the two squads in which neither team gained more than a five point advantage. Heglund would also score from beyond the arc in the second half.

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Junior guard Jessica Case and sophomore forward Angel Blanco each scored 18 points as #17 Westmont (22-7) defeated The Master’s (16-14) on Wednesday night in the first round of the Golden State Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament. The third-seeded Warriors advance to a semifinal match-up with Point Loma Nazarene on Friday night in San Diego.

“I was really pleased with our effort tonight,” noted Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. “We have had a tough road the last couple of weeks having to play a lot of really good teams and having a lot of road games. It was nice to be back in our home gym and to be playing well.”

In addition to her 18 points, Case recorded four rebounds, three steals and three assists. With tonight’s totals, Case has gone over the 900-point mark, having scored a total of 917. She is currently the Warriors’ ninth all-time scorer.

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Westmont Women’s Basketball fell behind early and never caught up as #19 ranked Azusa Pacific (21-9, 12-8 GSAC) defeated the #17 Warriors by a score of 76-55 in Azusa on Monday night. With the loss, the Warriors fall to 21-7 overall and 13-7 in Golden State Athletic Conference play.

The Warriors had trouble containing Kristie Hala’ufia, who recorded 24 points and 17 rebounds. Alex Moore-Porter posted 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Westmont was led in scoring by Jessica Case with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. Amber Stevens tallied 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists.

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