In a defensive battle between undefeated teams in Murchison Gymnasium, NAIA No. 2-ranked Westmont Women’s Basketball put together more offense and produced more defensive stops to defeat Southern Oregon, 57-40.
“That was a really physical game against a team that has already proven this year to be really good, really tough,” said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. “They are a national tournament level team. They have already beat #4 Carroll (Mont.) and Menlo. We knew they would be taking it to us. They are well coached and disciplined and they are united in a system that they all buy into.
“For the second game in a row, our defense came through for us. We played tough and gritty against a very physical team. I am proud of our player’s efforts.”
Stefanie Berberabe led the Warriors with 14 points, 5 assists and 4 steals. Laila Saenz had 13 points and Paula Graichen had 9 points and 4 rebounds coming off the bench.
“I thought that Paula had a phenomenal game for us off the bench, not just scoring but also her presence defensively was really good for us. She made a lot of big plays,” said Moore.
Southern Oregon was led by Kami Walk with 11 points and 7 rebounds.
Westmont won the battle of the boards 42-31 and enjoyed an 11-4 advantage on second-chance points. They also produced 13 steals to Southern Oregon’s 6. The Warriors defense held the Raiders to just 12 field goals.
Westmont (4-0) begins Golden State Athletic Conference play with a pair of home games. On Thursday, the Warriors will host Arizona Christian (0-2) at 5:30 p.m. Then on Saturday, Westmont will welcome Ottawa (Ariz.) (3-3) to Murchison Gymnasium. Saturday’s game is scheduled to tip-off at noon.