Sophomore shooting guard Jessica Case scored 22 points, tying a career record, to help Westmont secure a key Golden State Athletic Conference victory on Saturday night at Hope International, 62-54.

The Warriors (13-4) entered the game with a 4-4 conference record and in a three-way tie with Hope (4-5 GSAC, 13-8 overall) and The Master’s for fifth place. With the win, Westmont moved into a three-way tie for fourth place with No. 10 The Master’s (5-4, 13-5), which defeated San Diego Christian (2-7, 7-11), 72-36, and No. 19 California Baptist (5-4, 11-5), which lost to Azusa Pacific, 78-71. Westmont travels to The Master’s on Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. game and hosts Cal Baptist on Feb. 2.

Sophomore point guard Amber Stevens just missed a triple-double, recording 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Senior forward Stephanie Anderson added eight points and junior Ali Mooty, who continues to improve after a foot injury, contributed nine rebounds and six points.

After Hope’s Sarah Nylander (10 points) started the scoring with a three-point bucket, the Warriors answered with a 7-0 run consisting of a layup by Stevens, a long-range bomb by Case and a jumper by Annie Johnson. Westmont did not surrender the lead the rest of the game.

The Royals’ Jasmine Nault (22 points, 15 rebounds) scored on a jumper with 13:11 on the clock to cut Westmont’s lead to 13-9. That score stood for more than six and a half minutes as the two teams combined for 18 missed field goals and two missed free throws before Case scored on a layup to wake up the scoreboard operator. A Case three-pointer gave Westmont a 29-24 advantage at halftime. She made five of seven attempts from beyond the arc.

Angel Blanco gave Westmont its largest lead of the night (41-29) when she scored on a layup with 13:45 remaining in regulation. But the Royals kept the Warriors from running away with the game by producing a 10-2 run that concluded with a jumper by Nault with 8:17 to play. Westmont’s lead fluctuated between four and seven points over the next six minutes until Nylander nailed a three-pointer to pull Hope to within three points with 2:08 on the game clock.

Johnson missed a three-point attempt but Anderson pulled down the offensive rebound to retain possession for the Warriors. Westmont tallied 50 rebounds in the game, which ties for fourth best in Westmont’s single-game record book. Hope’s Allison Wulff sent Mooty to the free-throw line and the All-American added two points to Westmont’s advantage. A free throw by Hope’s Brittanie Philbrook cut the lead to four going into the final minute. But Westmont made six of eight free-throw attempts down the stretch.

Ron Smith is Westmont College‘s sports information director.