By Ron Smith
February 16, 2021
 
(COSTA MESA, Calif.) Stefanie Berberabe poured in 28 points to lead #4 Westmont Women's Basketball (6-1) to a 64-45 victory in the first game of a critical three-game series against #12 Vanguard (5-2). With the win, the Warriors improved to 3-0 in the GSAC West standings and now hold a game and one-half led over the Lions who are 2-2 in conference play.
 
Westmont and Vanguard will play again on Friday and Saturday in Murchison Gymnasium. If the Warriors win either of those games, they will clinch an automatic berth into the NAIA National Championship. 
 
"I am grateful for another opportunity to play tonight, and especially against Vanguard, with whom we have so many great battels over the years," said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. "They really came out firing on all cylinders and it took us a while to chip away and get some momentum built of our own."
 
The Warriors had a slow start playing in The Pit at Vanguard. The Lions led by as much as nine points (17-8) with under a minute to play in the opening frame. Before the quarter ended, Berberabe cut the deficit to six with three points the hard way. After making the first of two free throws, Berberabe missed the second. However, she rebounded her miss and put the ball back through the hoop to make the score 17-11.
 
"Stefanie showed tonight what she does in practice every day. Her playing and relentless competitive spirit led the way for us tonight," noted Moore. "We also had important contributions from Destiny Okonkwo, Gabriella Stoll and Krissy Miyahara off the bench and they were vital to our momentum swing in ways that don't always show up on a stat sheet."
 
In the second quarter, Westmont began to turn things around. Trailing 22-15 with just under six minutes remaining before intermission, the Warriors went on a 9-3 run to pull within one point (25-24) at the half.
 
The lead switched hands several times throughout the first six minutes of the third quarter. The Lions were up 34-31 with three and one-half minutes left in the penultimate period when Westmont started to take over the game. Okonkwo, Sydney Brown and Berberabe scored on consecutive layups to give Westmont a 37-34 advantage. Jarrett kept the run going with a pair of free throws before Berberable closed out the quarter with another layup, making the score 41-34 in favor of the Warriors.
 
Berberabe scored again one minute into the fourth quarter to complete the Warriors' 12-0 run. Vanguard's Gabriela Rosas hit a jumper to make the score 43-56 before Westmont produced another 7-0 run to go up 50-36. Jarrett pilfered the ball and scored on a fast-break layup to start the run. Then, Stoll hit a jumper before Jarrett connected on a 3-point field goal. Westmont maintained at least a 12-point lead the rest of the way.
 
In addition to her 28 points, Berberabe tallied four rebounds and five assists. Jarrett notched 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals.
 
"Getting this win on the road was important for us," acknowledged Moore, "but we know it is just the first game of a three-game series and we need to be even better next game as we make adjustments and prepare for game two."
 
Friday and Saturday's games are both scheduled for 4:30 tip-offs. Due to state and local COVID-19 mandates, spectators will not be allowed to attend the games in person. However, fans can enjoy all the action on the Westmont Sports Network broadcasts available at https://athletics.westmont.edu/video or through Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV or Roku.