By Ron Smith
January 31, 2019
 
(ROCKLIN, Calif.) For the second game in a row, sophomore guard Lauren Tsuneishi drained five three-pointers as #14 Westmont Women's Basketball (16-6, 9-3) defeated William Jessup (16-7, 7-5) by a score of 58-39. Tsuneishi, who finished with 17 points and four assists, went five of seven from beyond the arc.
 
Freshman post player Sydney Brown recorded her fifth double-double of the season by tallying 13 points and 12 rebounds. Brown made six of 10 attempts from the floor.
 
Jessup's Creonah Bryant (12 points) scored the first eight points of the game, recording a bucket on each of the home team's first four possessions. With her team down 8-0, Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore called a timeout to address her team.
 
The Warriors from Montecito responded by outscoring the Jessup 17-2 in the remainder of the opening quarter, resulting in a 17-10 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
 
Westmont's defensive prowess was on display in the second quarter, allowing Jessup just eight points. The Warriors rank third in the NAIA in fewest points allowed at 50.7 per game. Jessup, which entered the contest averaging 68.9 points per game, was held to 30 points under its average. At the intermission, Westmont held a 28-18 lead.
 
In the third quarter, Jessup nearly doubled its score, tallying 16 points. However, Westmont matched Jessup point for point with six different Warriors scoring in the frame.  In the final quarter, Westmont limited Jessup to just five points while pouring in 14 points of its own to secure the victory.
 
Junior guard Maud Ranger recorded nine points, four rebounds and four assists while freshman post player Kaitlin Laron tallied eight points, three rebounds and three assists. Freshman guard Stefanie Berberabe came off the bench to tally seven points and two steals in 19 minutes of play.
 
In other GSAC action, #5 The Master's (19-4, 11-1) recorded a 70-60 win over #16 Menlo (16-6, 7-5) in Atherton and #8 Vanguard (16-6, 7-4) suffered a 79-63 road loss to #25 Arizona Christian (16-8, 9-3). Hope International (14-7, 5-7) more than doubled up Life Pacific (1-21, 0-12) in San Dimas while OUAZ (9-10, 3-9) notched a 78-65 win over the visiting Hawks of San Diego Christian (7-16, 1-10).
 
With six games remaining in the GSAC regular season, The Master's retains a two-game lead in the GSAC standings over Westmont and Arizona Christian who are tied for second place. Vanguard is in fourth place, three one one-half games behind the conference leaders while Menlo and Jessup are tied for fifth place, one-half game behind Vanguard.
 
The Warriors will continue their Northern California road trip by traveling to Atherton to take on the Oaks of Menlo on Saturday afternoon at two o'clock.