By Ron Smith
January 12, 2019
 
(SANTA CLARITA, Calif.) A cold shooting first half resulted in a Golden State Athletic Conference loss for #15 Westmont Women's Basketball (12-5, 5-2 GSAC). The Warriors fell to #21 The Master's (14-4, 6-1) by a score of 58-48. The Warriors shot just 19.0 percent (4 of 21) from the field in the first half and trailed at the half 24-14.
 
In the second half, the two teams played even (34-34), with Westmont making 37.9 percent  (11 of 29) of its field goal attempts, including 42.9 percent from three-point range (6 of 14). The Master's was held to 32.0 percent in the second half (8 of 25), but made 16 of 23 free throw attempts to secure the win.
 
The Master's scored the first five points of the game on a three-pointer by Rebekah Throns (6 points, 3 rebounds) and a jumper by Sabrina Thompson (5 points, 3 assists). A pair of free throws by sophomore guard Lauren Tsuneishi (14 points, 2 rebounds) preceded a jumper by freshman post Sydney Brown (8 points, 7 rebounds) to make the score 5-4, midway through the opening frame.
 
After Stephanie Soares (13 points, 12 rebounds), the Mustangs' 6-6 freshman forward, scored on a jumper to give The Master's a three-point lead (7-4), Jessica Soares, a 6-3 sophomore center, followed her sister's example to give the Mustangs a 9-4 advantage.
 
With 30 seconds remaining, junior guard Maud Ranger (6 points, 4 rebounds) nailed a three-pointer from the corner to make the score 9-7 going into the second quarter.
 
A three-point bucket by the Mustang's Jamilee Iddings restored a five-point advantage to The Master's before Kaitlin Larson (10 points, 10 rebounds) scored on a layup to make the score 12-9. The younger Soares responded with a layup before freshman guard Stefanie Berberabe drained a three to reduce the deficit to just two (14-12) with 5:58 remaining in the half.
 
Unfortunately for the Warriors, the Mustangs would end the second quarter on a 10-2 run, resulting in a 24-14 halftime advantage for The Master's.
 
The third quarter would see the Mustangs lead by as much as 14 and hold a 39-28 lead going into the final frame.
 
With just under eight minutes remaining in the contest, The Master's returned to its 14-point advantage (45-31) when Anika Neuman (14 points) hit a three. The Warriors, however, were not done.
 
Tsuneishi, Ranger and Tsuneishi again connected for back-to-back-to-back three-pointers, drawing the Warriors to within five at 45-40. With just over five minutes left in regulation, Larson added a free throw to make the score 45-41.
 
Unfortunately for Westmont, The Master's would score eight of the next nine points to take a 53-42 lead and the Warriors would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
 
In other GSAC games, #11 Menlo (13-4, 4-3) handed #5 Vanguard (13-4, 5-2) a loss, winning by a score of 71-60. Twenty-fourth ranked William Jessup (13-5, 4-3) defeated San Diego Christian (6-13, 0-7) by a mark of 66-49 in Rocklin. Arizona Christian (13-6, 6-1) won on the road, defeating Hope International (12-4, 2-4)  by a score of 77-69 and OUAZ of Arizona (8-6, 2-5) defeated Life Pacific (1-16, 0-7) by a 76-69 margin.
 
As a result, The Master's and Arizona Christian share first place in the conference standings, one game ahead of Vanguard and Westmont who are tied for third. Menlo and Jessup are tied for fifth, two games behind the leaders. One game further back is Hope International in seventh place.
 
Next week, Westmont will play at Hope International on Thursday and then host San Diego Christian on Saturday.