Box Score By Ron Smith
December 5, 2024
 
(FRESNO, Calif.) Sage Kramer tallied a career-high 27 points as Westmont Women's Basketball (4-3, 1-0) opened the PacWest schedule with a 56-40 road win at Fresno Pacific (4-4, 0-1). Kramer made 10 of 19 attempts from the floor, including two of six from 3-point range. She also drained five of six from the free throw line.
 
Molly Garnand and Kate Goostrey each added eight points to the Warrior cause.
 
Lisa Kiefer matched her season-high 18 rebounds, eight of which were from the offensive glass. Kramer and Garnand each added seven rebounds.
 
The opening frame did not include much scoring, ending in a 6-6 score. However, Westmont's head coach Kirsten Moore found that to be encouraging.
 
"Our defense set the tone for the game tonight," assessed Moore. "I was really proud that our team stayed so strong defensively despite having a hard time finding a flow offensively. It was a total defensive battle in the first quarter until our defense could kick into gear. I was proud of our grittiness.
 
"Mariah Brown, at the point guard, set the tone early in our defense and everyone got it done on the boards. Lisa made such an impact on the defensive end with rebounding. That set the tone for our offense to get flowing in the second and third quarter. That is when we saw Sage step us for us offensively. She was really determined and found a way in the midst of a scrappy defensive team that Fresno is. She found a way to get in there and put the ball in the basket."
 
With four minutes to play in the second quarter, the Sunbirds held a 15-14 lead. It would be their last lead of the game.
 
Kate Goostrey hit her first triple of the quarter, sparking a 12-2 run to end the first half. Garnand then scored three the old-fashioned way before Kramer sank two free throws, making it a 22-15 Westmont lead. After a layup by the Sunbird's Jayla Green, Goostrey nailed another three. Then, Brown added a free throw to give Westmont a 26-17 advantage at halftime.
 
The third quarter was all Kramer. The senior scored 19 points in the penultimate period, going seven of nine from the floor including two triples. She was also three for four from the charity stripe. She had two runs in the quarter in which she scored seven straight points.
 
Headed into the final frame, the Warriors held a 49-26 lead. That was more than enough to hold on for the final 16-point margin.
 
The Warriors held Fresno Pacific to less than 64 percent of their scoring average of 63.7 points per game. Part of the defensive success was limiting Fresno Pacific's long-range shooting. The Sunbirds made just one of 15 attempts from 3-point land.
 
"They are a dangerous 3-point shooting team," said Moore. "For us to hold them to one three was a big key. We had been working on that all week and it was nice to see that executed in the game today."
 
The Warriors outrebounded the Sunbirds 47-36, including posting an offensive rebound advantage of 19-10.
 
"If you think about Lisa's eight o-boards, that leads to eight more possessions for us," observed Moore. "She was joined in a really good rebounding effort by Molly and Sage, who is always dangerous on the boards.
 
"Fresno was the leading offensive rebounding team in the conference coming in, so we had talked about how important it was to win the battle of the boards tonight. I thought we were really gritty and tough out there."
 
The Warriors will head farther north for their second PacWest game, taking on the Warriors of Jessup (4-3) on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.