Westmont Women’s Basketball (19-6, 15-4 PacWest) used a balanced offense to defeat the Oaks of Menlo (10-14, 8-11) by a score of 89-55. Just over 12 minutes into the game, nine different Warriors had already scored. By game’s end, five players had recorded double figures.

Sage Kramer led the Warriors in scoring with 17 points, going three for four from 3-point range. She also recorded five rebounds. Bailey Fong added 14 points to the Warrior totals, dished off four assists and stole the pill on three occasions.

Mariah Brown tallied 13 points, three assists and four steals and Lisa Kiefer notched the ninth double-double of her career with 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals. Skylar Knight drained three triples on her way to 11 points and three rebounds.

As a team, Westmont made 12 of 26 attempts (46.2%) from beyond the arc. They also controlled the boards, grabbing 51 rebounds to Menlo’s 28. The Warriors were equally effective on both ends of the court, tallying 26 rebounds on the defensive end and 25 on the offensive boards.

In the first quarter, seven different Warriors scored, led by Brown and Fong with five apiece. Up by four (15-11) with 1:45 remaining in the opening frame, Jazmyn Shipp grabbed an offensive board, then scored on the put back.

Then, after a free throw by Menlo’s Taylor Westbrook, Navine Mallon found herself all alone, holding the ball just beyond the 3-point line. When no one came to challenge her, Mallon took aim and swished the ball through the net, giving Westmont a 20-12 lead.

After two more free throws by the Oaks, Fong drove the lane and scored on a layup, resulting in a 22-14 lead at the end of the first.

In the second quarter, Westmont outpaced Menlo 30-17. With the score 24-16, Westmont went on a 13-2 run to take an 18-point lead (37-19). The Warriors maintained that margin until the final minute when Kramer dropped in a triple to put Westmont up 52-31 at the half. Kramer led the Warriors in scoring in the second quarter with 11 points.

The Warriors had trouble scoring at the beginning of the third quarter, but their defense allowed them to maintain their advantage. Finally, with just over five minutes remaining in the penultimate period, Kramer dropped in another three, scoring the Warriors first field goal of the second half. That put Westmont up 59-37.

With Westmont leading 61-46, Bariteau scored from long distance. Then, with under 15 seconds left in the quarter, Kiefer pilfered the ball and scored on a layup to put the Warriors up by 20 (66-46) with one quarter to play.

The final frame belonged to the Warriors who outscored the Oaks 23-9. Fong went six for six from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter on her way to nine points and Knight was two of four from beyond the arc as she accumulated eight.

With the win, the Warriors remained in contention for a top seed in the upcoming PacWest Tournament. With three games remaining, Westmont is currently in third place in the standings, one-half game behind conference leader Point Loma (15-3). Vanguard is in second by percentage point with a record of 14-3.

Azusa Pacific is a game behind the Warriors in fourth place with a record of 13-4. Two and one-half games back of the Warriors in fifth place is Dominican (12-6). Concordia (11-8) is four games behind Westmont and is currently holding the sixth and final spot in the PacWest Tournament.

On Saturday afternoon, the Warriors will honor its seniors in the final home game of the season. Following the Senior Day celebration, Westmont will take on Dominican, beginning at 1:00 p.m. The Warriors and Penguins faced each other just last Saturday in San Rafael with Westmont prevailing 69-64.