By Ron Smith
November 21, 2024
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Women's Basketball (3-3) faced a familiar opponent on Thursday night, hosting the Mustangs of The Master's (3-3) at Murchison Gymnasium. The Warriors led from start to finish, defeating the Mustangs 87-72.
 
Five Warriors scored in double figures led by Sage Kramer who scored 21 points on nine of 16 shooting. She also tallied nine rebounds and three blocks. Noemie Bariteau and Molly Garnand each added 13 points with Garnand going six of six from the field. Kate Goostrey contributed 12 points while Bailey Fong recorded 10 points in 19 minutes of play.
 
Lisa Kiefer continued her production on the boards, pulling down 17 rebounds. She also had five assists, five points and a pair of steals.
 
Before tip-off, the Warriors held a two-point lead, courtesy of a pair of free throws by Goostrey whose trip to the free throw line was due to a technical foul called on the Mustangs.
 
By the end of the first quarter, which ended with Westmont holding a 15-point lead (29-14), seven Warriors had put points on the board led by Bariteau (seven) and Kramer (six). Westmont made 12 of 18 (66.7%) field goal attempts in the opening frame, including two of four from beyond the arc.
 
The Master's narrowed the margin by three in the second quarter as the Warrior's shooting cooled off. However, Westmont still held a double-digit lead (44-32) at halftime.
 
The Warriors returned to form in the second half, shooting 52.9% (18 of 34) from the floor. Westmont took its largest lead of 24 points (62-38) when Fong nailed a triple with 2:46 left to play in the third quarter.
 
Westmont will not return to action for two weeks when they begin PacWest play on the road against Fresno Pacific.