By Ron Smith
March 12, 2021
 
(LEWISTON, Idaho) The Warriors of Westmont Women's Basketball (10-1) will take on the Bulldogs of Montana Western (17-9) as they begin play in the NAIA Opening Round Tournament.
 
Montana Western won the right to play the Warriors by defeating Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) earlier today by a score of 81-36. Westmont had a bye in the first round.
 
Four different players scored in double figures for Montana Western led by Brynley Fitzgerald who tallied 21 points, seven rebounds and five steals. On the season, the 5-11 junior forward is the Bulldogs leading scorer, averaging 17.0 points per game.
 
Also averaging double-figure scoring is sophomore guard Shainy Mack (11.1 points per game) and senior guard Paige Holmes (10.4 points per game).
 
With a Frontier Conference record of 12-8, the Montana Western Bulldogs finished in third place in the conference standings. The Bulldogs were the conference tournament runner-up, falling to Carrol (Mont.) in the championships game by a score of 70-62.
 
Montana Western, the 2019 NAIA National Champion, is seeded 27th in this year's tournament that consists of 48 teams.
 
Westmont arrived in Lewiston on Thursday to prepare for the tournament and was able to schedule one practice session on the competition court in the Lewis-Clark State College Activities Center.
 
The Warriors, who are the second overall seed in the NAIA tournament, will take on Montana State at noon. A pay-per-view broadcast will be made available by Lewis-Clark State at https://lcwarriors.com/watch.
 
This year marks the 16th time Westmont has qualified for the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship, including the last 11 years. The Warriors have a tournament record of 18-13, were the 2013 NAIA National Champions and were the runner-up in 2018.
 
The winner of tomorrow's game will advance with the winners of the other 15 Opening Round Tournaments to Sioux City, Iowa where they will compete in a 16-team, single-elimination bracket beginning on Thursday, March 18.