Westmont Basketball (20-7, 16-5) couldn’t keep pace with Azusa Pacific (20-8, 16-5) and fell to the Cougars by a score of 76-61. As a result of the loss, Westmont fell into a three-way tie with Azusa and Point Loma for second place in the PacWest standings with one game to be played in the regular season.
The game remained close throughout the first half. Neither team held more than a four-point advantage until there was 3:49 remaining in the second quarter. That’s when a layup by Bailey Fong put the Warriors on top 31-25.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, Azusa Pacific responded with an 11-0 run to close out the second frame and take a 36-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.
With the start of the third quarter, Molly Garnand scored on a jumper in the paint to pull the Warriors within three (36-33). However, the Cougars responded with an 8-0 run, producing the first double-digit lead of the game (44-33) just three minutes into the penultimate period.
Over the next minute and one-half, the Warriors cut into the Cougar’s lead with a pair of layups by Jazmyn Shipp and a triple by Skyler Knight to make the score 44-40. Azusa, however, closed out the quarter on a 13-4 lead to take a 57-44 lead into the final frame.
In the fourth quarter, the closest the Warriors were able to get was 11 points.
Garnand led Westmont in scoring with 18 points despite playing just 21 minutes due to foul trouble. The junior forward also collected seven rebounds. Lisa Kiefer also ran into foul trouble – picking up her fourth with 4:35 remaining in the third quarter – but still led the Warriors in rebounds with eight.
Shipp added 14 points to the Warrior cause while Knight tallied 10 points and five rebounds.
In a rare occurrence, Westmont was outrebounded by Azusa Pacific 44-39. The Warriors collected just 12 offensive boards, five below their average.
To finish up the regular season, Westmont will take on Point Loma on Saturday afternoon beginning at 2:00 p.m. Azusa Pacific will travel to La Mirada to take on Biola at 5:30 p.m.
If Westmont wins against Point Loma and Azusa Pacific loses to Biola, Westmont will finish in second place and be the number two seed in next week’s PacWest Tournament. If that occurs, Westmont’s first game would be on Friday in the semifinals against the winner of Thursday’s game between the fourth and fifth seeds.
If Westmont wins against Point Loma and Azusa Pacific defeats Biola, Westmont and Azusa would finish tied for second in the standings. Azusa Pacific would be the number two seed based on head-to-head results between the two teams. Westmont would be the number three seed and would play sixth-seeded Concordia in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
If Westmont loses to Point Loma, Westmont will be the number four seed in the PacWest Tournament and will face fifth-seeded Dominican on Thursday.