By Ron Smith
February 9, 2019
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Women's Basketball (18-7, 9-4 GSAC) had hoped tonight's game at Murchison Gymnasium would serve to shore up their chances of claiming a bye in the upcoming Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament. However, the fourteenth-ranked Warriors suffered a 59-44 loss to #8 Vanguard (19-6, 10-4).
 
After a scoreless first three minutes of play, Vanguard's Victoria Chea (10 points) connected on a layup for the games' first points. Westmont responded by scoring on its next three possessions to go up 6-2. Sydney Brown (6 points, 9 rebounds) scored on back-to-back buckets before Iyree Jarrett (7 points three assists) pilfered the ball and drove down the court for a layup.
 
Vanguard's Meghan Peneueta (16 points, 6 rebounds) dropped in the first three-pointer of the game before Westmont's Maud Ranger (4 points, 9 rebounds) hit a jumper to give Westmont an 8-5 advantage with 4:30 to play in the opening frame.
 
Thirty seconds later, Tristen Rollon (6 points, 3 assists) nailed another Lion three-pointer, to tie the score at eight.
 
Over the next three minutes, the teams produced one free throw each. The only other score in the opening 10 minutes was a jumper by the Lions' Vanessa Murphy (15 points, 11 rebounds), resulting in an 11-9 Vanguard lead.
 
In the second quarter, Vanguard increased its advantage to nine points (25-16) when Peneueta scored with 3:12 remaining. The Lions were held scoreless the rest of the period while Kaitlin Larson (11 points, 3 rebounds) made two layups to cut the halftime deficit to 25-20.
 
In the third quarter, Westmont whittled away at Vanguard's lead, finally surpassing the Lions (36-34) when Lauren Tsuneishi drove to the hoop, made the basket, drew a foul and completed the old fashion three-point play. However, a three-pointer by Chea, helped Vanguard recapture a 38-37 advantage going into the final quarter.
 
A layup by Murphy and another by Michaelle Elad (5 points) put the Warriors back in a 42-37 hole. A jumper by Brown made the score 42-39, but Murphy took the ball to the basket to restore the Lions' five point margin at 44-39 with seven minutes left in regulation.
 
Over the next three minutes, the only scoring that materialized was a free throw by Stefanie Berberabe (7 points, 3 rebounds) and another by Gabriella Stoll (5 points).
 
With just under four minutes to play, Berberabe fed the ball to Tsuneishi who drained a three-pointer to tie the game at 44. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Vanguard closed out the game on a 15-2 run, handing Westmont its seventh defeat of the season.
 
In other GSAC play, #5 The Master's (22-4, 14-1) upended visiting San Diego Christian (7-19, 1-13) by a score of 69-37. William Jessup (17-8, 8-6) and #25 Arizona Christian (11-3, 18-8) also won at home, defeating #16 Menlo (16-8, 7-7) 70-58 and OUAZ (9-12, 3-11) 88-55 respectively.
 
Westmont is now in third place in the GSAC standings, one-half game behind Arizona Christian and one half game ahead of Vanguard. The Master's maintains a two game lead at the top of the standings.
 
The Warriors will take a break from conference play to host Bethesda on Tuesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.