By Tim Heiduk
November 29, 2019
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) The #8 Westmont women's basketball team (5-1) is especially thankful for fourth quarter comebacks this Thanksgiving season, as the Warriors recovered from a fourth quarter deficit for the second straight game on Friday. Westmont defeated #11 Shawnee State (Ohio), 66-64, at the Rotary Classic in Jackson, Tennessee, to pick up its second win against a ranked opponent already this season.
 
"We went down early and really struggled to get any momentum in the first half and figure out a way to get stops," said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. "We had another phenomenal comeback against one of the best teams in the country. Just a really gutsy effort from my team again and they never stopped until the final buzzer."
 
This fourth quarter comeback comes after Westmont overcame a 13-point deficit entering the final period last Saturday against Antelope Valley, a game the Warriors ultimately won in double overtime.
 
Against Shawnee State, Westmont trailed 20-11 after the first quarter before outscoring the Bears by three points to reduce its halftime deficit to six, 32-26. Shawnee State outscored the Warriors 18-16 in the third quarter to take an eight-point lead into the fourth.
 
But Westmont's offense, which scored more points in each successive quarter, exploded for 24 points in the fourth and limited Shawnee State to 14, as the Warriors won the game, 66-64.
 
Westmont had four players score in double figures, led by Kaitlin Larson's 16 points.
 
"Kaitlin Larson really stepped up for us today in a lot of ways, hitting some big shots," Moore said.
 
The other players to reach double digits in points were Iyree Jarrett (13), Lauren Tsuneishi (11), and Gabriella Stoll (11).
 
"Iyree Jarrett was huge down the stretch for us," said Moore. "She got to the rim a couple times, then got fouled with eight seconds left and made both free throws to seal it. She was really good.
 
"Lauren Tsuneishi I thought just leadership wise and stability wise, throughout the whole game really gave us some momentum when we needed it, especially in the second quarter. She hit some threes that were really important in a big run we made in the second half to make our comeback."
 
Stefanie Berberabe just missed out on double digits with nine points, but led the team with five assists. Maud Ranger led the Warriors with her nine rebounds, just falling short of her third consecutive game with double-digit rebounds.
 
Defensively, Westmont forced 18 turnovers and limited the Bears to just 7.7% (1-13) shooting from 3-pt. range. The Warriors only turned the ball over 10 times themselves and shot a much better 32.1% (9-28) from behind the arc.
 
The Warriors will get another shot at beating a ranked opponent tomorrow at noon CST (10 a.m. PST) against #2 Campbellsville (Ky.).
 
"We've got another huge game tomorrow against the number two team in the country," said Moore. "We've got to try and have a quick recovery and try to see if we can battle again tomorrow. Hopefully we can get a little bit better of a start than we've had lately, so we don't have to make these big comebacks, but I'm really proud of my team for doing it."