By Ron Smith
January 23, 2020
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Lauren Tsuneishi tallied 16 first-half points to help #4 Westmont Women's Basketball (14-3, 7-1 GSAC) secure a 59-36 Golden State Athletic Conference win over the Royals of Hope International (13-4, 3-5). Tsuneishi went four of eight from beyond the arc in the first half.
 
"Lauren was really aggressive in the first half and the only offense we could get going," said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. "We struggled to get in rhythm all night. In games like that it is nice to be able to rely on your defense. To hold them to 36 points for the game was good."
 
The Warriors outscored the Royals 18-15 in the opening frame, then exploded for a 22-8 effort in the second quarter, resulting in a 40-23 lead at the intermission.
 
"We had a scrappy effort on the boards," noted Moore. "When you are not shooting as well, there are more rebounding opportunities and you have to create more possessions. I thought we did a good job of that."
 
Maud Ranger led the Warriors in rebounds, recording 19 on the night and making it a double-double by adding 11 points. Gabriella Stoll also notched a double-double, posting 12 points and 11 rebounds.
 
"Gabi had a phenomenal game off the bench with both rebounds and dynamic scoring," offered Moore. "Gabi can score inside and outside. As she continues to play and gain confidence, you are starting to see more of her capabilities come out on the offensive end of the floor. I really like to see the rebounding she brought today and aggressiveness."
 
Also big on the boards was Iyree Jarrett who tallied seven points, nine rebounds and four assists.
 
The second half proved to be a defensive effort by both squads. The third quarter saw Westmont outscore the Royals, but only 9-6.
 
Perhaps the most entertaining moment of the third quarter came with just one minute left when Stefanie Berberabe came out of her shoe attempting to pilfer the pill. She tied up the Royal player in the backcourt and the alternate possession was awarded to the Warriors as Berberabe rebooted.
 
The fourth quarter was nearly equally low scoring with each team adding only one more point to the totals of the previous period.
 
In other GSAC action, #5 Vanguard (14-2, 7-1) edged #1 The Master's (19-1, 7-1) by a 61-60 mark to create a three-way tie atop the conference standings between those two teams and Westmont.
 
"We've known that this is going to be a dog-fight for a championship," said Moore. "There are teams that are so good in this league that every single game is a championship game. If you drop one game, it is going to hurt you. That is how close the race for the championship is going to be. Tonight just proved that with the three-way tie."
 
The trio of conference leaders have a two-game lead over fourth-place William Jessup (12-7, 5-3) who survived 76-75 against the visiting Oaks of Menlo (8-9, 4-4). Menlo falls into fifth place in the conference standings, three games back of the leader.
 
Westmont will conclude the first round of GSAC play with a road trip to El Cajon to take on the Hawks of San Diego Christian (5-14, 0-8) at Grossmont College. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.