Second-ranked Westmont Women’s Basketball overcame a slow start to post its 13th win of the season and remain undefeated, taking down the Warriors of William Jessup (9-6, 4-2 GSAC) by a score of 65-47.
The Warriors improved to 6-0 in Golden State Athletic Conference play to remain atop the GSAC standings.
“After a rocky start and a wake-up call, we locked in our defense,” acknowledged Westmont’s veteran head coach Kirsten Moore. “We forced 22 turnovers and got it done on the boards.”
Westmont outrebounded Jessup 43-34 including a 17-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
Jessup took the early lead, going up 12-2 in the first five minutes of the opening frame. After a timeout called by Moore, Westmont responded with a 12-3 run in the remainder of the first quarter. Sage Kramer (10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals) hit a three from the left side before Paula Graichen (5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals) made a free throw and then hit a 13-footer to pull Westmont within four (12-8).
Stefanie Berberabe (15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals) scored her first points of the game on a reverse layup making the score 12-10. After Jessup scored on a jumper and a free throw, Berberabe scored twice more – once on a layup and again on a five-foot jumper – resulting in a 15-14 lead by Jessup at the end of the first quarter.
A layup by Jessup’s Andrea Jovicevic restored a three-point advantage to Jessup to start the second quarter. Destiny Okonkwo (7 points, 8 rebounds) pulled Westmont within one after gathering an offensive rebound and connecting on the put-back. Then she connected on one of two free throws to tie the game at 17.
Kate Goostrey (12 points, 2 steals) gave Westmont its first lead of the night when she drained a long-range shot to make the score 20-17. After a triple by Jessup’s Maila Lepolo tied the game at 20, Berberabe passed the ball to a wide open Okonkwo under the basket. Her two-foot jumper put the Warriors up 22-20.
Jessup took its last lead of the game when Natalie Moulos connected on another 3-pointer. However, Bailey Fong (5 points) responded in kind to put Westmont back on top 25-23. A minute later Fong, beat the 30-second buzzer to put Westmont up by four. After a Jessup score, Westmont took a 27-25 lead into the locker room.
“It was definitely a night when things didn’t come easy, offensively,” said Moore. “We shot the ball terribly in the first half. We were able to step up our defense and continue to stay persistent on the boards even when we weren’t shooting it well. That started to opening things up a little bit.”