By Ron Smith
January 20, 2020
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) In a classic battle between two highly ranked NAIA teams, #1 The Master's (19-0, 7-0 GSAC) departed Murchison Gymnasium with a 64-55 Golden State Athletic Conference win over #4 Westmont (13-3, 6-1) on Saturday night.
 
The battle was close throughout with neither team holding more than a six-point lead until the final half minute of the game.
 
"Master's is ranked number one for a reason," said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. "They are super long and they play well. They made some shots down the stretch today in a game that I thought was well contested and very even. I'm really proud of the way my players battled. I thought they played with a lot of heart. We needed to hit a few more shots in the fourth quarter that just didn't go in tonight."
 
The Warriors led 13-12 at the end of the first quarter and Gabriella Stoll drained a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining before the intermission to give the Warriors a 29-28 lead at the half. Stoll tallied 10 points and six rebounds for the Warriors, making two of four from 3-point range.
 
"Gabby did a good job for us off the bench," praised Moore. "She hit big shots and, from the beginning, she was crashing boards."
 
Westmont couldn't keep pace in the third quarter, however, and was outscored 17-12, giving The Master's a four-point advantage (45-41) going into the final frame.
 
With 6:42 remaining in the game, Iyree Jarrett was fouled on a successful jumper in the paint and converted the free throw to pull the Warriors within one at 49-48. After a jumper by the Mustang's Stephanie Soares (25 points, 24 rebounds), Stoll hit her second long-range shot to tie the game at 51-all with six minutes to play.
 
Jarrett led the Warriors with 15 points while adding four rebounds, five assists and two steals.
 
Over the next four and one-half minutes, however, the Warriors were outscored 6-0 and did not get closer than four points.
 
"It was a two possession game before we started fouling," noted Moore. "If one of those two positions goes the other way, we don't have to start fouling. It was a very close game. They made a couple of key buckets and we had some good looks that just didn't go down."
 
Stefanie Berberabe contributed 11 points, three rebounds, five assists and four steals to the Warriors' efforts.
 
"Stef gave a gritty performance on both ends," said Moore.
 
Lauren Tsuneishi added nine points while Kaitlin Larson recorded eight points and six rebounds.
 
"This (loss) doesn't shake our confidence," asserted Moore. "We are a team that can fight with anyone in the country and we showed that again tonight."
 
Westmont returns to GSAC play when it hosts the Royals of Hope International (12-4, 3-4).