By Ron Smith
December 7, 2024
 
(ROCKLIN, Calif.) Westmont Women's Basketball (4-4, 1-1 PacWest), came up a bucket short of finishing off a Northern California road trip with a pair of wins. The Warriors from Montecito fell on Saturday to the Warriors of Jessup (5-3, 1-0) by a score of 52-51.
 
"I think this weekend, with two games on the road, has been really good for us," said Moore. "We are moving in the right direction of who we are trying to become as a team. A lot of good things and pieces are coming together.
 
"Obviously, we fell one point short today. We had some really good opportunities, but many of those were missed - not just in the last couple of minutes, but throughout the game. That is where we have to continue to have this fuel us to get better at focusing on the little things.
 
"When you are playing good, tough teams, a lot of games really do come down to that one possession. This can fuel us to continue to get better.
 
"We took a lot of steps of growth and I am excited to see us get better in the response to this."
 
Sage Kramer continued with her hot shooting hand, tallying 18 points while also collecting nine rebounds. Kate Goostrey and Lisa Kiefer each added nine points to the Warriors' total with Kiefer bringing down 16 rebounds.
 
The Warriors got off to a good start, posting a 16-5 lead when Lisa Kiefer scored on a layup a little more than seven minutes into the game. A part of that margin was a 12-0 run by Westmont. After Amari Guiton of Jessup scored on a layup to start the scoring, Westmont rattled off 12 straight points. Both Goostrey and Kramer knocked down a triple during the run.
 
However, Jessup responded with a 9-0 run to close to within two (16-14) at the end of the opening frame.
 
"It was a very physical game and I think there were points of the game where we handled that well and other points, particularly in the first half, that we let that take us out of what we were doing. Give Jessup credit – they were focused and competitive and played well."
 
The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair with neither team holding more than a four-point lead. With 10 seconds remaining, Bailey Fong (8 points) collected a loose ball and fired off an 18-footer from the left baseline to put Westmont on top 31-30 headed into the halftime locker room.
 
Three minutes into the third quarter, with Westmont trailing 33-34, the Warriors in maroon started putting together a 9-0 run. After a pair of free throws by Kramer, Kiefer scored on a layup. On the Warriors' next possession, Goostrey scored on a fastbreak. Then, Kramer drained the second of her threes to put the Warriors up 42-34 with 5:41 remaining in the penultimate period.
 
Once again, however, Jessup constructed a run to pull within one before the horn at the end of the quarter sounded. The 10-2 run resulted in a 44-43 score.
 
In the final frame, Westmont found itself chasing Jessup. Layups by Guiton and Andrea Jovicevic gave Jessup a 47-44 advantage with nine minute to play. Down 50-44 with six minutes left, Westmont put together another run and took a 51-50 lead with just under two minutes remaining.
 
That was before a pair of free throws by Jovicevic with 1:11 on the clock returned the advantage to Jessup (52-51). A Warrior turnover gave the ball back to the home team and Westmont would not get possession again until the clock read 0:06.3. After a Westmont timeout, the Warriors had a look, but could not find the bottom of the net.
 
The win by Jessup was the first in the 22 games played between the two teams.
 
Westmont returns home to complete final examinations next week before hosting Azusa Pacific on Saturday, December 14 at Murchison Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.