Fifth-ranked Westmont went on a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter and defeated Arizona Christian 79-74 in the semifinals of the Golden State Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament on Friday at Menlo.
Four Warriors scored in double figures to help Westmont overcome a 31-point performance by Courtney Christmas, the NAIA’s leading scorer who averages 23.4 points per game.
The Warriors will take on take on #5 The Master’s in Saturday’s championship game. The Mustangs advanced to the final with a 64-56 win over No. 12 Vanguard in the other semifinal.
The two teams split in the regular season with the Mustangs prevailing 58-48 on January 12 in Santa Clarita and Westmont winning 49-46 in Santa Barbara on February 16.
Westmont has won the last three GSAC Tournament Championships and has an opportunity to become the first women’s basketball program in GSAC history to win four GSAC Tournament titles in a row. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Teamwork was the key on the offensive end for the Warriors (23-7). Iyree Jarrett led Westmont in scoring with 21 points while tacking on six assists and two steals. Kaitlin Larson contributed 17 points and seven rebounds. Lauren Tsuneishi went four of five three three-point range while tallying 15 points and Stefanie Berberabe notched 11 points, five assist and two steals.
The Warriors found themselves trailing most of the game. Each time Westmont would pull close or take a small lead, the Firestorm would go on a run and re-establish an advantage. Only once did the deficit reach 10.
The Warriors entered the third quarter down 36-31 and were still down by five (53-48) with a minute and one-half remaining in the frame. A pair of free throws by Larson and two more by Gabriella Stoll (6 points, 5 rebounds) brought Westmont to within one (53-52). However, with 50 seconds showing on the clock, Jac Moody sank two free throws to restore a three-point advantage to the Firestorm (55-53).
Berberabe was fouled on the Warrior’s next possession and connected on the second of two free throw attempts. Berberabe then turned Grinch and stole the ball from Christmas, drove to the basketball and completed the layup to tie the game at 55 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final period, Arizona Christian outscored Westmont 17-9 in the first six minutes to take a daunting 72-64 lead.
However, the Warriors were not done.
An offensive rebound led to a three-pointer by Larson, her second of the night. After a miss by the Firestorm, Sydney Brown (3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks) came down with the rebound and Jarrett scored on a layup to make the score 72-69.
Christmas attempted a layup on Arizona Christian’s end of the floor, but Brown blocked the shot, which led to a Firestorm turnover. On the Warriors’ offensive end, Berberabe drove to the hoop but saw Tsuneishi open and kicked the ball out to her in the corner. Tsuneishi buried the three, tying the score at 72 with 1:55 to play.
Westmont’s defense stiffened again, resulting in another turnover by the Firestorm. On the ensuing Westmont possession, Berberabe fed Tsuneishi again and the sophomore drained her fourth three-pointer of the night, putting Westmont on top 75-72 with 35 seconds left in regulation.
“We all just wanted to win,” said Tsuneishi. “We worked so hard to catch up and get such a great lead. Iyree had so many great steals and pushes and Stef was driving to the rim. It was so fun to see them working so hard. They stepped up so everyone stepped up and it was awesome to see.”
Just seventeen seconds later, Berberabe pilfered the ball again, for her fourth steal of the game, forcing Arizona Christian to begin fouling.
However, the Firestorm had only committed one previous foul in the period, meaning that Westmont would take the ball out of bounds instead of shooting free throws. Arizona Christian had to commit three more fouls before forcing Westmont to the charity stripe in an effort to get possession of the ball. Seven more second expired from the clock before Tsuneishi stepped to the line and sank both attempts, giving Westmont a 77-72 lead with 15 seconds showing on the game clock.
A missed three-pointer by Arizona Christian was rebounded by Brown, who was fouled with nine seconds to play. Brown sank the first of her two free throws to make the score 78-72.