By Ron Smith
March 4, 2021
 
(SAN DIEGO, Calif.) Lauren Tsuneishi tallied 23 points while Stefanie Berberabe and Iyree Jarrett added 17 and 10 respectively as #4 Westmont Women's Basketball (10-1) posted a 70-66 road victory over Point Loma Nazarene in Golden Gymnasium.
 
"Lauren played like a senior in the postseason tonight," said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. "Every time they made a run, she hit a big shot to answer the call. I felt like that about our team in general whether that was on the defensive end getting a stop when we needed it ,or Stef or Iyree creating off the dribble, or Lauren hitting those threes. I thought we had a lot of clutch play tonight when we needed it."
 
Tsuneishi made six of 12 attempts from beyond the arc, added a field goal from two-point range and went three of four from the charity stripe.

A low-scoring first half produced a half-time score of 27-22 in favor of the Warriors, which delighted the Warriors' coach.
 
"I was proud of our defense in the first half, especially in our rebounding where we were relentless," said Moore. "Point Loma is a dangerous offensive team, so I was proud of how we defended. On a night when, honestly, we struggled to finish and struggled shooting we were able to rely on our defense and our rebounding. That is what it will take when we head to the national tournament as well.
 
While the offensive production wasn't ideal – Westmont shot just 35.3% from the floor including 25.0% from beyond the arc - the Warriors found a way to win with Jarrett serving as tonight's playmaker on both ends of the court.
 
"Iyree struggled finishing tonight, but she had 10 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals," pointed out Moore. "Her impact on the game was everywhere. Her passing was phenomenal."
 
While the team's accuracy from the floor was not ideal, the Warriors had no trouble from the free throw line, making 16 of 17 attempts (94.1%), which is the sixth best performance in program history. In fact, the Warriors were perfect from the line until there were just two seconds left in the game and Tsuneishi missed the Warriors' 17th field goal attempt.
 
Tsuneishi scored the first points of the game by draining a three with 8:47 to go. From that point on, Westmont held the lead until there was just 1:05 remaining in regulation. That is when the Sea Lions' Ellie Turk sank a 3-point bucket to tie the game at 65.
 
Berberabe was fouled on the Warriors' ensuing possession and recaptured the lead by converting two free throws. After a missed layup on Point Loma's end of the court, a Berberabe layup gave Westmont a 69-65 advantage with seven seconds to play. Each team would add one free throw to account for the final score.
 
The game brought to a close the Warriors' regular season. Westmont learned today that it will begin postseason play as the number two seed in the NAIA National Championship. Westmont, who received a first-round bye, will play Saturday, March 13 in Lewiston, Idaho, taking on the winner of the first-round game between Montana Western and Benedictine Mesa (Arizona).