By Ron Smith
February 3, 2018
 
(ROCKLIN, Calif.) Lauren McCoy recorded her third double-double in as many games as sixth-ranked Westmont Women's Basketball (15-5, 8-1 GSAC) posted a 55-52 Golden State Athletic Conference win over William Jessup (11-13, 2-7) on Saturday afternoon in Rocklin. McCoy tallied 18 points and 12 rebounds. The senior from Arcata now has 1,325 career points and currently ranks fifth on Westmont's all-time scorers' list.
 
Joy Krupa added 11 points and eight rebounds to the Warriors' totals while Morgan Haskin notched 10 points, three boards and two blocks. With 121 career blocked shots, Haskin ranks second in the Warrior record book.
 
Jae Ferrin and Lauren Tsuneishi contributed eight points each with Ferrin adding six rebounds.
 
Westmont scored nine of the first 10 points on a layup by Haskin, an old-fashioned three-point play by Krupa and a pair of layups by McCoy – the second after she pilfered the pill. However, the Warriors of Jessup fought their way back to come within two (13-11) by quarter's end.
 
Jessup held the Warriors scoreless for the first three minutes and 45 seconds of quarter number two while producing a 7-0 run to go up 18-13. Two layups by Haskin, sandwiched around one by Ferrin, got the Warriors' offense moving again as the Warriors went ahead 19-18.
 
After Jessup's Miranda Zaragoza scored in the paint to put the northern Warriors ahead 20-19, Westmont scored the next seven points with a pair of layups by Ferrin and a 3-point bucket by Tsuneishi. A pair of Jessup free throws at the end of the half sent Westmont to the locker room with a four-point lead (26-22).
 
In the third quarter, Jessup outscored Westmont 16-12 to eliminate the deficit and tie the score at 38 apiece. That set up a fourth-quarter showdown as the home team sought to pull off the upset.
 
Haskin and Jessup's Emilee VanDyke traded baskets to make the score 40-40 before McCoy laid the ball in the hoop to give Westmont a 42-40 lead. A successful 3-point shot by Olivia Luu put Jessup up 43-42 but a jumper by McCoy returned the advantage to Westmont (44-43).
 
With 3:47 to play, VanDyke scored on a layup, but McCoy responded in kind. A missed jumper by Jessup gave Westmont a chance to extend its lead. Tsuneishi was fouled in the act of shooting on the Warriors' next possession and sank both free throws to put the Westmont Warriors up 48-45.
 
However, Luu found her range again from beyond the arc and with 2:25 remaining on the second half clock, the score was tied at 48-all.
 
After both teams failed to score on their respective next possessions, Krupa connected on a jumper to put Westmont ahead 50-48 with just over one minute to play.
 
Over the next 42 seconds, Tsuneishi would converted on three of four free throw opportunities, extending the Warrior cushion to five points (53-48.)
 
With 11 seconds to play, Jessup's Ashlyn Jones hit a jumper to make the score 53-50. Three seconds later, Krupa dropped in two free throws from the charity stripe to give Westmont back its five-point lead.
 
Jones scored again at the buzzer, but it was not enough to keep Westmont from claiming the victory.
 
In other GSAC action, #8 Vanguard (16-3, 6-3) downed #23 Arizona Christian 17-5, 6-3) to move into a second-place tie with the Firestorm. The two teams are two games behind the first-place Warriors with five games remaining in the regular season.
 
With Westmont's win today, the Warriors have officially clinched a spot in the GSAC Tournament that begins on March 1 at Arizona Christian in Phoenix.
 
The Master's (15-6, 5-4) claimed a 55-50 road win over #16 Menlo (17-6 5-4) and moved into a tie with the Oaks for fifth place, three games behind Westmont.
 
In the late game, Hope International (16-8, 4-5) posted a 75-57 road win over San Diego Christian (7-16, 0-9). With the win, the Royals took a two-game lead over William Jessup for sixth place and the final spot in the upcoming GSAC Championships.
 
Next week, Westmont will host three games. On Tuesday, Westmont will welcome Saint Katherine (0-23) to Murchison Gymnasium for a non-conference match-up at 7:00 p.m.
 
On Thursday, the Warriors will host the Firestorm of Arizona Christian and seek to avenge their only conference loss of the season. On Saturday, Westmont will square-off with Hawks of San Diego Christian. Both Thursday and Saturday's games are scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.