By Ron Smith
January 20, 2018
 
(SANTA CLARITA, Calif.) Westmont Women's Basketball (11-5, 4-1 GSAC) remains tied for first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference standings after defeating the Mustangs of The Master's (12-5, 2-3) on Saturday night 62-56. The 12th ranked Warriors held the Mustangs to 26.9 percent shooting and produced 10 blocks.
 
Senior Lauren McCoy (19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks) and Morgan Haskin (17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks) led the Warriors inside game while sophomore Joy Krupa added a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds). Westmont tallied 10 team blocks, which ties for second place in the Warrior record books.
 
The Warriors defense took control of the first quarter, holding the Mustangs to one field goal on 15 attempts and limiting The Master's to just five points.
 
Westmont jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a layup and free throw by Morgan Haskin and two layups by Lauren McCoy. After a pair of free throws by Brooke Bailey broke the ice for the Mustangs, Joy Krupa scored on a jumper and Jae Ferrin and McCoy added one free throw each to give Westmont an 11-2 advantage.
 
The Master's Jamilee Iddings completed an 'and-one' play before the Warriors closed out the first frame on a 5-0 run consisting of a free throw by Cassidy Tiegs, a jumper by Ferrin and two free throws by Haskins. The result was an 11-point advantage (16-5) after the first quarter of play.
 
The Mustangs picked up the pace in the second quarter but so did Westmont. With 4:50 to go before intermission, Bailey landed a jumper to pull The Mustangs to within five points at 24-19. Westmont, however, put together a 13-0 run to stretch their advantage to 18 points (37-19).
 
Left undefended, Krupa nailed a three to start the run. McCoy scored on a layup before Maud Ranger drained back-to-back threes on subsequent possessions. Krupa capped the run with a jumper from just inside the arc with 1:36 to play.
 
A three-pointer by Bailey made the score 37-22 before Haskin sank a pair of free throws to conclude the first half scoring with the Warriors leading 39-22.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs made a late run. With Westmont up 62-52 and 25 seconds remaining in regulation, The Master's scored four unanswered points on a pair of free throws by Bailey and a layup by Hannah Forrar. The rally proved to be too little, too late, however, and Westmont held on claim the road win.
 
In other GSAC action, #2 Vanguard (14-1, 4-1) defeated San Diego Christian (7-12, 0-5) by a score of 68-50 and #15 Menlo (16-3, 4-1) picked up a 73-64 win over William Jessup (10-10, 1-4). Hope International (14-6, 2-3) earned a 78-74 win over #24 Arizona Christian (14-4, 3-2).
 
As a result, Westmont remains tied for first place in the GSAC standings with Vanguard and Menlo. Arizona Christian is one game back in fourth place. The Master's and Hope International are tied for fifth place, two games behind the leaders.
 
Next week, the Warriors finish up the first round of conference play with a pair of home games. On Thursday, Westmont will host Hope International on Thursday and Vanguard at Murchison Gymnasium on Saturday. Both games are schedule to tip-off at 5:30 p.m.