By Jacob Norling
February 26, 2021
 
(FULLERTON, Calif.) #4 Westmont (9-1, 6-0) finished their Golden State Athletic Conference schedule with an 85-35 win over Hope International (1-6, 1-5) on Friday night.
 
Following their GSAC West clinching win on Tuesday, the Warriors kept their foot on the gas pedal, not taking a single possession for granted against Hope on Friday.
 
Westmont Head Coach Kirsten Moore said, "We try to play beyond the scoreboard, whether we're on the positive side or the negative side of that, and just try to be our best every possession. We're trying to continue to work on some things as we head into the postseason so it's really important for us to make sure we're playing our best."
 
Westmont showed no mercy from the get-go, outscoring the Royals 24-8 in the first quarter, with Sydney Brown and Stephanie Berberabe both outscoring the opposition with 10 and nine points each. Westmont also outrebounded Hope 15-5 in the first-quarter, which set the tone for how the night would ultimately go.
 
Westmont stretched their lead by a great margin again in the second quarter, outscoring Hope 25-13, and headed in to halftime with a comfortable 49-21 lead.
 
The second half provided much of the same for the Warriors, who finished the night shooting 52.5% from the field (32-61) and 49% from 3-point range (12-25).
 
In only 19 minutes on the floor, Sydney Brown led all scorers with a season-high 19 points, making seven of her 10 shots from the field, and also contributed a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Westmont's defense was equally superb, holding the Royals to a field goal percentage of 21.7% (13-60). Westmont did not allow a single player for Hope to score in double-digits, and bullied the Royals inside the paint, outrebounding Hope 53-19. Westmont also held four individual Royals scoreless, two of which played double-digit minutes.
 
Westmont never once let up down the stretch, holding the Royals scoreless for the final 7:18 of the fourth quarter, finishing the night on a 12-0 run.
 
In regards to the final run of the game, Coach Moore said, "We got a little sloppy defensively in the fourth, so I just challenged to play harder, because those are possessions that once we get into the postseason, a scouting-report error defensively could cost us a game. So, we wanted to stay tight and obviously we did that well down the stretch."
 
With one minute left in the game, Westmont's Kirsten Koehnke sunk the team's 11th 3-pointer of the night, for her first points of the game. Koehnke's shot ensured that every Warrior that appeared in Friday's game tallied at least one point.
 
"Our starting group was really good tonight, which gave the opportunity for a lot of people to contribute. Everyone contributed off the bench in some great ways, like Kirsten Koehnke who came in to hit some shots in the end," said Coach Moore.
 
Berberabe, the reigning GSAC Player of the Week, finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, once again providing the Warriors will stellar play on both sides of the ball. Iyree Jarrett collected eight rebounds, and led both sides with 10 assists.
 
"I thought our guards were super unselfish. I mean, you look at Iyree, who is a first team All-American, and she hardly shot the ball tonight. She just wanted to facilitate for her teammates and ends up with 10 assists," said Coach Moore.
 
Westmont's is currently preparing with their eyes on the opening round of the NAIA National Championship, which takes place March 12-13. The Warriors will find out where their opening round games will be held on March 4, when the NAIA selection committee announces the full 48-team bracket.
 
Last season, Westmont's team was announced as the number one overall seed in the tournament, before the remainder of the NAIA athletic season was cancelled, due to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Westmont is currently on a nine-game winning streak, with their only loss of the regular season coming against NCAA division I Pepperdine.