BILLINGS, Mont. —Aimee Brakken lit up the three-point line, knocking down six triples for 18 points,  to lead Westmont to a 57-52 victory over Louisiana State University Shreveport in the first round of the 2017 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Tournament on Thursday.

Cora Chan had 14 points and Kayla Sato added 12 for the Warriors (28-4), who ninth-ranked Lyon of Arkansas in a second-round game on Friday.

Rebounding played a key role for the Warriors against LSU-Shreveport (22-10). They won the battle of the boards 43-35, led by Lauren McCoy’s nine caroms.

“They are just really dangerous on the offensive glass and we were able to out-rebound them by eight, which was huge,” said coach Kirsten Moore.

“I think it was a game that we just had to grind it out, which is not always pretty,” continued Moore. “Every single possession on both sides of the floor was really tough and challenging, but I think we have players who have been in this situation before and they made really big plays when they needed too.”

Shreveport’s Courtney Randle hit a three-pointer to give the Pilot’s first lead since the first quarter (45-42).  Chan immediately decreased the deficit to one with a jump shot, and then McCoy took an offensive charge that coach Moore called “the play of the game”.

“Because of McCoy’s offensive charge, their best player picked up her fourth foul and had to sub out with six and a half minutes left. That really changed the momentum of the game for us,” said Moore.

Brakken took advantage and hit a three-pointer, and Sato followed with a jump shot to give Westmont a four-point lead with 4:07 remaining (49-45). The Pilots’ Kourtney Pennywell put up a layup to make it a two point game. With 1:07 remaining, Brakken sunk a crucial three-pointer from the top of the key to put the Warriors up by five (52-47). 

“It was a tough shot and I don’t even know how she got it off,” explained Moore. “She didn’t have a lot of time because they were chasing her all over, trying to make sure she didn’t have any open looks, but she just stepped up and hit it.”

For the remainder of the game, the Pilots fouled to stop the clock. The Warriors made the majority of their free throws to close out the game.