By Ron Smith
December 21, 2018
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Kaitlin Larson poured in 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to help lead #11 Westmont Women's Basketball (9-4) to a 60-56 win over #3 Wayland Baptist of Texas (10-2). Sydney Brown added another 12 points, nine rebounds and two steals.
 
"I'm really proud of how we responded after a tough outing on Wednesday," said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. "We missed some shots early in Wednesday's game and for the first time all year it effected our confidence and how we played. Today, we were able to bounce back and beat one of the best teams in the country."
 
"Kaitlin struggled earlier this week and was not able to finish," said Moore. "She is a fierce competitor and you could see that in her eyes today. Kaitlin had a double-double and Sydney was just one rebound away. When we can get our inside game going like today, that will make our outside game even better. We are hard to guard because we have threats in both places."
 
The Warriors never trailed in the closely contested game.
 
Leading 7-6 with just over four minutes to play in the opening period, Westmont closed out the first quarter on a 9-4 run that began when Brown drove the lane from the right elbow and laid the ball in the net with her left hand. After a couple of free throws from the Flying Queens' Kambrey Blakey (10 points, 4 rebounds), Brown grabbed on offensive rebound and scored on the put-back jumper.
 
On Westmont's next possession, Brown chased down a loose ball and shoveled it over to Lauren Tsuneishi (6 points, 6 assists) in the left corner. Tsuneishi drained the three to make the score 14-8. With just over a minute showing on the clock, Brown received the ball at the top of the key and drove to the right side, scoring with her right hand.
 
In the second quarter, Wayland Baptist cut the deficit to two points (16-14) before Stefanie Berberabe (8 points, 3 rebounds), who was handed the ball by Larson, shot from just outside the arc and drained a three. Though the Warriors led by as much as six points three times during the quarter, the Flying Queens scored the final three points before halftime to create a score of 28-25 at the intermission.
 
Three times in the third frame, Wayland Baptist tied the Warriors, that last time at 35-all with just under three minutes remaining. However, Iyree Jarrett (6 points, 3 assists) fed a ball inside to Larson who turned on her defender and scored on a layup. Larson then made two free throws to put Westmont up by four (39-35) with 2:11 to play.
 
Just 11 seconds later, a jumper by WBU's Kaylee Edgemon (8 points) made the score 39-37. After Berberabe intercepted a pass on the defensive end, Jarrett drove the lane but dumped off a pass to Brown who scored on a three-foot jumper to make the score 41-37 entering the fourth quarter.
 
Westmont opened the final frame with a 10-2 run to take their largest lead of the game (51-39). A pair of free throws by Brown was followed by a three-point bucket by Berberabe off an inbound pass by Tsuneishi. Berberabe scored again when she found an open lane and drove to the basket for a layup. Larson completed the run when she fired off a three from the top of the key.
 
Wayland Baptist battled back over the final six and one-half minutes to draw within two (58-56) on a three-pointer by Morgan Bennet with 4.1 seconds left in regulation. However, Jarrett put the game out of reach with a pair of free throws with 3.3 seconds to play.
 
"I have so much respect for Wayland Baptist – how they play, how they complete," said Moore. "They are an extremely good team. I thought we were really tough defensively. We were dialed into our game plan and executed it really well. We made a lot of toughness plays we didn't make on Wednesday. I am proud of the fight this team showed today to come up with a big win for our program.
 
"We got the lead and were able to sustain through some runs that they made. I'm proud of my young group. We keep growing and learning from every experience. We have had as tough of a non-conference schedule as anyone in the country. I'm hoping that pays dividends. I think that the GSAC is tougher than it has been in my 13 years here. Hopefully, the fact that we have been tested early on against some really good teams will help us be prepared for really tough battles every night in the GSAC."
 
The Warriors are off until January 3 when they will host Menlo in a return to Golden State Athletic Conference play. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.