By Ron Smith
December 5, 2020
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Women's Basketball, the top-ranked team in the NAIA, finally tipped off the season, taking on NCAA Division I Pepperdine (1-0) in Malibu. The Warriors fell to the Waves 68-56. The game was added just this week after both teams had their respective scheduled season openers canceled.
 
Three Warriors scored in double figures led by junior guard Stefanie Berberabe who tallied 16 points on seven-of-19 shooting. The junior guard also tallied four steals, three assists and four rebounds. Junior post Kaitlin Larson made five of 10 from the floor on her way to 14 points and three rebounds. Junior guard Iyree Jarrett notched 13 points, all in the first half, and recorded a team-high five assists.
 
"Stefanie is always a spark plug for us," said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. "She plays with such big heart, hustle, grit and toughness. She makes so many things happen on the floor. I thought Iyree was dialed in and critical in the first half. In the second half, Kaitlin stepped up for us.
 
"We had moments where everyone showed what they are capable of, but in the first game of the year, when we haven't even been able to practice five-on-five, to be able to put that all together in your first game is maybe an unreal expectation. However, we are capable of it and have that expectation of ourselves."
 
Senior guard Lauren Tsuneishi recorded eight points for the Warriors despite sitting out much of the second half due to foul trouble.
 
Making her return to play as a Warrior, redshirt-sophomore forward Sydney Brown tallied five points and four rebounds. Brown sat out all of last season with an injury.
 
Three players made their Warrior debut: freshman post Destiny Okonkwo - who notched four rebounds and three steals – freshman forward Aleena Cook and redshirt-freshman guard Kirsten Koehnke.
 
As might be expected after a nine-month layoff, the Warriors had some shooting challenges, making just 33.9% from the floor (20 of 59), including 27.8 percent from three-point range (5 of 18).
 
"It definitely looked like we were rusty, compared to how we are capable of playing," acknowledged Moore. "One of the frustrating parts of the game was turning the ball over more than we are used to and not being as sharp in executing plays we are capable of doing."
 
The Warriors committed 12 turnovers over the course of the game.
 
The Warriors fell behind 5-0 to start the game, but scored seven of the next nine points to tie the score at seven. Jarrett opened the Warriors' scoring by draining a three before adding two more on a layup. Berberabe sank a jumper to complete the 7-2 run.
 
Pepperdine responded, however, with a 14-2 run over the next five minutes. A trey by Berberabe made the score 21-12 at the end of the opening frame.
 
In the second quarter, the Warriors drew within five (25-20) of the Waves on a free throw by Brown before Pepperdine produced a 12-2 run. A three by Jarrett and a layup by Larson resulted in a halftime score of 37-27 in favor of the home team.
 
The third frame saw the Warriors rally once again, cutting the lead to just six (46-40) on a jumper by Larson. However, Pepperdine closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run.
 
"I was proud of the way we fought and scraped," said Moore. "We had multiple times where Pepperdine went on runs and we responded. We cut the lead and came back; unfortunately, we could never get over the hump. (The third quarter run) was the most disappointing part of the game for me. It came off a couple of back-to-back turnovers that are uncharacteristic of us."
 
The Warriors outscored the Waves 16-13 in the final quarter, but it was not enough to overcome the Waves' advantage.
 
"We had some moments where we showed the potential of what we are capable of this year, but we need to sustain that for an entire game," noted Moore. "We need to continue to get our bench in there. It was fun to get them their first college experience today.
 
"One of the huge keys continues to be rebounding. I think we did a much better job in the second half. That was a good improvement throughout the course of the game to make that adjustment at halftime and do a much better job on the boards in the second half."
 
Westmont was outmatched 23 rebounds to 14 in the first half, but in the second half, Pepperdine managed just an 18-17 advantage.
 
"We are grateful for the opportunity to play, but we are not satisfied," asserted Moore. "We want to get better and we want to compete to win these games. We believe we are going to get a lot better, now that we are getting some opportunities to get some experience."
 
In the ever-changing landscape of college athletics during a pandemic, the Warriors are seeking to add additional games next week. Westmont confirmed today a game at Long Beach State on Saturday and is hoping to add another game midweek.