By Ron Smith
November 14, 2017
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Women's Basketball (3-1) suffered its first loss of the season, falling to the Cougars of #16 Azusa Pacific (6-0) by a score of 72-57.
 
While the Warriors, ranked at number seven in the NAIA, struggled in the first half, the second half looked very different and brought encouragement to head coach Kirsten Moore.
 
"Azusa came out on fire and were seven of 11 from the three-point line in the first half. It was tough to get stops," reported Moore. "We are usually a really good defensive team, but in the first half, we were not that tonight. In second half, we were. We were gritty, we were tough and we did not give them the shots that they wanted. That's why it was a really different story in the first half."
 
The Warriors were outscored 44-27 in the first 20 minutes but outplayed Azusa Pacific 30-28 in the final two quarters.
 
"I feel like we grew a lot through the course of the game," noted Moore. "In the second half, I was super proud of our fight and our effort. We beat them in the second half, played a lot better defense and battled every possession.
 
"Azusa is a really good team – a veteran team. They return all their players and have a number of transfers added to their roster. They have a chance to make a run in Division II when they have everyone healthy."
 
Seniors Lauren McCoy and Morgan Haskin, along with sophomore Joy Krupa supplied the bulk of the Warrior's offense. McCoy tallied 18 points while making nine of 13 from the floor. She also had nine rebounds. Haskin added 16 points and nine rebounds and Krupa recorded a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
"Those three were big bright spots," offered Moore. "They had great composure and great fight. Joy was all over the place on both ends of the floor.
 
"Our effort on the boards was great. We outrebounded them by seven (37-30) and consistently outrebounded them all game. That showed our fight and our toughness even though they shot the ball well and played well."
 
Of the Warriors' 37 boards, 17 came at the offensive end of the floor.
 
Next up for the Warriors is a home game against Carroll of Montana (3-0) on Saturday night at seven o'clock.
 
"The second half growth that we had can hopefully lead us into a really important game that we have against Carroll," said Moore.
 
The Warriors are 4-2 all-time against Carroll. Their last game was on November 15, 2015 in the Las Vegas Tournament in which the Saints prevailed 76-67.