Box Score A 14-0 run to start the game put #2 Westmont Women's Basketball (10-1, 2-0 GSAC) in control of tonight's Golden State Athletic Conference game at Hope International's Darling Pavilion. Hope International (4-3, 0-1) did not score until more than seven minutes into the game.
"Our players were really focused," reported Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. "I was really proud of our defensive efforts and our efforts on the board. We outrebounded them by 17."
Krissy Karr started the Warriors off with a three-point bucket before Aysia Shellmire scored on a jumper in the paint. Aimee Brakken then drained a three before Cora Chan added a free throw. A three-pointer by Chan made the score 12-0 before Karr scored from two-point range.
At the end of the first quarter, Westmont held a 20-7 advantage. The rest of the way, the Warriors led by at least 11 points and held as much as a 26-point lead (53-27) in the final frame.
"The first half we shot the ball well and played very good defense," noted Moore. "In the second half we struggled offensively to make shots. Obviously, we continued to play really good defense, holding them to six points in the third quarter."
All ten available players saw time on the court in tonight's game and all ten scored. All but one also had at least one rebound.
Shellmire tallied 13 points and nine rebounds while Sato and Karr matched Shellmire's point total. Lauren McCoy pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Warriors on the boards.
"Krissy got us started in the first half with 10 points and then Kayla came off the bench and scored 10 in the first half as well," reported Moore. "Aysia didn't get a lot of looks in the first half, but had a great second half. We were able to get her loose a little more in the second half and she was able to get some opportunities off of offensive rebounds."
The Warriors are off for the next two and one-half weeks, returning to campus on December 26 to begin preparing for the Holiday Classic beginning on December 29.
"Over the break we will enjoy Christmas and being with our families," said Moore, "but our goal is to come back and be better in the second half of our season than we were in the first. Everyone is going to have some individual things they will try to improve on over break. We are going to stay hungry to keep improving and keep getting better."
During the Holiday Classic, the Warriors will take on Johnson and Wales (Colo.) on December 29 and Frasier Valley (B.C.) on December 30.
