By Jacob Norling
November 30, 2023
 
(HONOLULU, Hi.) It took a while for the Warriors to arrive offensively, but thanks to stellar defense and timely free throw shooting, Westmont women's basketball found a way to win their first PacWest game in program history on Thursday night in Honolulu. Westmont trailed at the end of three different quarters, but ended the only one that mattered with a 66-60 advantage to claim the conference opener over the Chaminade Silverswords.
 
"We stuck with it tonight," laughed an exhausted Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. "There was a lot of ugly early on, but we figured some things out when it mattered in the fourth quarter. I was proud of the grit they showed to get through this one."
 
The Warriors had a sluggish start on offense, making just two of their first 14 shots from the field across the first nine minutes. Luckily, in the final minute of the first quarter, Bailey Fong sank a pair of shots from beyond the arc to flip the trend. Still, entering the second quarter, Westmont found themselves trailing 15-11.
 
Westmont carried the momentum over by making the first four shots of the second, which included a layup by Aleena Cook giving the team its first lead (16-15). With 3:24 remaining in the half Sage Kramer drove to the basket and gave Westmont its largest lead of the half so far at 25-19. 
 
However, over the final three minutes of the half, Chaminade went on a 9-2 run to send the Warriors into the locker room trailing 28-27. Things grew worse over the first several minutes of the third quarter, as at the four-minute mark in the period, Chaminade stretched their lead to nine at 43-34. Kramer made a couple big shots over the next few minutes to keep Westmont in it, but still, the Warriors entered the fourth quarter trailing 47-41.
 
"Our team knew their backs were against the wall," reflected Moore. "We came into that fourth quarter with mentality and focus that we obviously need to be starting games with. It was great for us to see what that kind've situation was like though, and it said a lot about this team responding the way they did."
 
The team turned it on over the first two minutes of the final period, with a layup from Kramer knotting it at 47 with eight to play. Then, over the next minute, Westmont forced a Chaminade timeout after a pair of finishes by Aleena Cook put Westmont up 53-49. From that point on, Westmont's lead never grew beyond two possessions, and their fate would ultimately be decided at the free throw line.

Luckily for the Warriors, of the 17 free throws they made on the night, 15 of them came during the fourth quarter. Goostrey made five during the fourth, Fong and Cook each made four, and Kremer sank a pair down the stretch as well.
Thanks to their efficiency at the stripe, and their resiliency on defense, the team was able to grab their first PacWest win by a score of 66-60.

"We put things away at the free throw line, but boards was a big part of it in the end as well," pointed out Moore, whose team outrebounded Chaminade 46-37. "We were able to create a lot of extra possessions with an o-board when makes were really hard to come by."

Individually, Kramer led the way with 22 points, while Fong (13), Goostrey (12), and Cook (12) all joined her in double-figures. Kramer collected the double-double with 12 rebounds, and also led the team with six steals. Fong, who was one of three Warriors with a pair of assists, swiped five steals as well.

"I was really proud of Sage Kramer tonight," nodded Moore. "She was huge. The points and rebounds stand out first, but those six steals on defense made a huge difference. There was a ton of hustle plays from her, which was awesome.

"Madi Bogan was big off the bench as well. She was a big spark for us and the box might not paint the full picture, but she made a really big difference for us. We're a team that on any given night someone can come in off the bench and make a difference, and tonight, that was Madi."

Moore's squad returns to action on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. HST/3:00 p.m. PST, when they take on the Hawaii Pacific Sharks. Links to live coverage will be available on the Westmont Athletics website.