By Ron Smith
December 9, 2020
 
(IRVINE, Calif.) Westmont Women's Basketball (0-1), the number one ranked team in the NAIA, took the Anteaters of NCAA Division I UC Irvine (1-2) to overtime before falling by a final score of 91-78.
 
"I was really proud of the fight in our players tonight," said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. "I thought we started the game really well and finished regulation on a phenomenal run. In that stretch, you saw what has become characteristic of this Warrior team – that fighting, never giving up spirit."
 
The game, originally slated for a four o'clock start, was pushed back one hour because the results of Westmont's COVID-19 tests were delayed. Originally expected by noon, the report from the lab was not received until approximately 2:30 p.m., with all coaches and players testing negative.
 
"Thankfully, UC Irvine worked with their administration and was willing to push the game time," expressed Moore. "At Westmont, Jason Tavarez (Director of Institutional Resilience) has worked so hard to give our athletes the opportunity to play. I am grateful for the things he is doing and Westmont College is doing to provide these opportunities safely for our players. Jason was able to make some calls and get our results expedited at the lab."
 
Once verified safe to play, the Warriors were able to enter Bren Events Center and begin preparing for the exhibition game.
 
Junior guard Stephanie Berberabe led the Warriors with 25 points while also posting five rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Iyree Jarrett, who did not come off the floor, tallied 17 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals.
 
Senior guard Lauren Tsuneishi and redshirt sophomore forward Sydney Brown also scored in double figures with Tsuneishi recording 13 points and four rebounds and Brown collecting 12 points and five rebounds.
 
Despite being outsized, the Warriors won the rebounding battle 44-42, including a 21-8 advantage on the offensive glass. Westmont also produced 13 steals to UC Irvine's seven.
 
"Our effort on the boards was great," assessed Moore. "We saw huge improvements from Saturday's game. I think we learned a lot from that and came out fighting."
 
The Warriors led much of the first quarter, relying on their ability to hit threes. Tsuneishi knocked down two long-range buckets while Berberabe and Jarrett added one each. A three by Tsuneishi with 38 seconds remaining in the opening frame gave Westmont an 18-15 advantage. However, the Anteaters' Kayla Williams responded by banking a three off the glass, resulting in an 18-18 score at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.
 
Both teams slowed down offensively in the second quarter. Westmont went nearly seven and one-half minutes without a field goal before a Berberabe layup pulled the Warriors to within one at 22-21. The half would end with the Warriors down by the same margin, 27-26.
 
"To be honest, we are disappointed we lost that game," said Moore. "Even in regulation, there were some stretches where we were not our best."
 
Westmont relied heavily on the 3-point shooting in the first half; then made some halftime adjustments to enhance its inside game.
 
"I think we only had two points in the paint in the first half," said Moore.
 
The third quarter saw the Anteaters achieve as much as a nine-point lead (48-39), but the Warriors closed out the penultimate period on a 6-1 run to pull within four (49-45) going into the final frame.
 
With 2:07 remaining in regulation, UC Irvine held a 67-56 lead and looked to be in control of the game. However, the Warriors were not finished.
 
"We were down and made a big comeback to force it to overtime," noted Moore.
 
A layup by Brown with 1:43 showing on the clock started a 13-2 Warrior run. With just under a minute to play, Berberabe drained two free throws, cutting the margin to seven (67-60). Four seconds later, Berberabe scored on a jumper, drawing the Warriors to within five and causing the Anteaters to call timeout.
 
Out of the timeout, Williams was fouled and converted one of two free throws to make the score 68-62. Six seconds later, Krissy Miyahara drained a three to make it a one-possession game at 68-65.
 
Irvine's Tahlia Garza was fouled and, like Williams, made one of two shots, making the score 69-65. However, with 35 seconds to play, Berberabe drew a foul and pulled Westmont to within two points by sinking two free throws.
 
The Anteaters attempted to put the game away, but missed a jumper with six seconds to play. Irvine got the rebound but the shot clock expired, giving the Warriors the ball with 3.4 seconds remaining.
 
Westmont inbounded the ball in front of its own bench and got the ball into the hands of Berberabe. The guard drove the lane and with half a second left scored on a layup to tie the game at 69 to force overtime.
 
Unfortunately, overtime did not go as well for the Warriors. Westmont gave up two threes to Jayde Cadee in the first minute and one half and never recovered.
 
"I think we ran out of steam a bit in overtime," acknowledged Moore. "To give up back-to-back threes and a couple of turnovers is uncharacteristic of us in overtime."

Despite tonight's outcome, Moore is excited about her team's improvement.
 
"It has been so important this week to get our team in a game-like setting," said Moore. "I think we are headed in the right direction, and are looking to continue to improve from here. Just the way we learned from last game and improved to this game, our hope is that we learn from this game, take the good and learn from the things we need to improve on to get ready for our next opportunity."
 
The Warriors expect that next opportunity to take place on Saturday, when Westmont will take on Long Beach State, another NCAA Division I team, at the Walter Pyramid. Tip-off is scheduled for two o'clock.