By Ron Smith
November 4, 2021
 
(EUGENE, Ore.) Senior forward Gabriella Stoll recorded a double-double to help #1 Women's Basketball (2-0) defeat #22 Bushnell (Ore.) (0-1) by a score of 74-51. In fact, Stoll had a double-double by halftime, notching 11 points and 11 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. By the time the final buzzer sounded, she had tallied 17 points and 15 rebounds.
 
"Gaby was a huge spark for us today," said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore, "with what she was able to do on the boards for us. She relentlessly pursued those rebounds. She is such a different player when she is aggressive and she was that tonight.
 
"She was aggressive on the defensive end. We were fighting foul trouble all night and Gaby was able to defend and play a whole lot of minutes in there for us.
 
"She is always aggressive to score and has the capability of being able to score in a lot of different ways. I loved the presence she played with, the fight that she played with and the consistency."
 
Stefanie Berberabe made seven of nine from the floor on her way to 20 points, three rebounds and eight assists. Iyree Jarrett posted 18 points, four rebounds and five assists in the Warriors' cause.
 
"Those two made some incredible plays," said Moore. "Their experience really showed tonight in leading us and maintaining composures when they made their runs. They knew when we need big shots and when we needed them to step up and make a play."
 
Five and one-half minutes through the first quarter, the two teams had played to an 11-11 tie. Over the next three minutes, however, Jarrett hit two jumpers and nailed a three-pointer to give Westmont an 18-11 advantage. Bushnell's Morgan McKinney drained a pair of free throws in the waning seconds of the opening frame, resulting in an 18-13 Warrior advantage headed into the second period.
 
The Warriors and Beacons played even ball in the early going of the second quarter, resulting in a 26-21 score with five minutes to go before intermission. Then, the Warriors unleashed a 14-0 run in the balance of the period to put the Warriors on top 40-21. After Jarrett knocked down another three from the corner, Berberabe scored on a jumper. That's when Stoll took over, finishing off the half with three field goals and a buzzer-beating three from the top of the key.
 
Both teams found the basket frequently throughout the third quarter, with Bushnell outscoring the Warriors 19-17. That left Westmont with a 57-40 lead headed into the final frame.
 
Despite three of their forwards playing with four fouls each in the fourth quarter, the Warriors pulled away from the Beacons, outscoring their opponent 17-11 to secure the win.
 
Sydney Brown scored eight points for the Warriors and pulled down six boards while Aleena Cook added six points and three rebounds.
 
As a team, the Warriors shot 49.1% from the field (27 of 55), including 40.0% from long distance (8 of 20). Westmont went 12 of 14 from the free throw line for a percentage of 85.7.
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Bushnell made 36.0% from the field (18 of 50), including five of 20 from 3-point range. The Beacons were led by Morgan McKinney with 21 points and Aspen Slifka who scored 20 points and pulled down seven points.
 
Despite being outsized, Westmont outrebounded Bushnell 39-26.
 
"It was great to get a win against a ranked team," said Moore. "I think they are a very good team. It was good to get tested early. They made some good runs on us and we were able to answer and didn't get flustered. We were able to stay true to ourselves and to what we have been able to consistently do over the last couple of years. We were able to stay the course. Defensively, we had 17 steals, which was pretty great.
 
"That being said, we are nowhere near as good as we could be now and as good as we need to be going into conference season. We have to be better. We have to not turn the ball over so much. That is uncharacteristic of us. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard.
 
"Regardless of the final score, we are always trying to play our best. We are not there yet, but it is also still early and we have been playing through the adversity of injuries."
 
The Warriors will continue their season by staying in Eugene until Saturday when they take on the Oregon Ducks in an exhibition game at noon.