By Ron Smith
December 13, 2025
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Women's Basketball (7-2, 3-0 PacWest) opened up an early lead in its rivalry game with Biola (4-4, 2-2), jumping out to a 19-4 advantage in the first quarter of play. The Warriors stretched their winning streak to five games with a 68-49 victory in Murchison Gymnasium.
 
"I think our defense set the tone for our team in the first quarter," assessed Westmont's head coach Kirsten Moore. "Biola is an incredibly dangerous offensive team. Their coach (Mike Simonson) does a phenomenal job with their motion offense, the pace they play at, and the cuts they make. That is what we worked on all week in preparation and I thought we did a great job."
 
Jazmyn Shipp notched 17 points, pulled down seven rebounds and collected three steals for the Warriors while Mariah Brown tallied 13 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Noemie Bariteau produced 11 points, three assists and two steals.
 
As a team, Westmont was credited with 17 steals led by pilferer-in-chief Lisa Kiefer who tallied six to go along with her game-high 10 rebounds and four points.
 
"Seventeen steals on the defensive end is really big," pointed out Moore. "Lisa did a great job leading the way on that. Like we have been focusing on all year, our defense came through, holding them to under 50 points."
 
The Warriors recorded a positive assist-to-turnover ratio of 15-11 and tallied three blocks. Two of those blocks came from Sage Kramer who also contributed eight points and six rebounds.
 
In the first quarter, Kramer was the first to put numbers on the scoreboard by converting a layup that followed a steal by Brown. Bailey Fong – who went three for five from long distance, recording nine points – made it a 5-0 game with the first of her triples. Then Kiefer took the ball to the hoop to give Westmont a 7-0 lead
 
Biola's first points came more than five minutes into the game on a layup by Laney Grider. However, Brown responded with a 3-pointer, Shipp added a layup and Kramer hit a jumper to put Westmont up 14-2.
 
With 48 seconds left in the opening frame, Grider made a second layup. Bariteau, however, scored twice in the final seconds of the first quarter – first on a three, then on a layup that followed a steal by Kiefer. That gave Westmont a 15-point advantage headed into the second quarter.
 
The rest of the game was played much more closely. Westmont stretched its lead to 20 points (30-10) on a layup by Bariteau with 5:32 remaining before halftime. However, Biola's offense rallied and reduced the deficit to 11 points (33-22) with a 12-3 run. A free throw by Brown and a jumper by Shipp closed out the first half with Westmont leading 36-22.
 
In the third quarter, the Warriors outscored the Eagles 15-11, using a balanced attack that saw five different Warriors score. Midway through the final frame, Westmont stretched its lead to 25 points (60-35) on a couple of free throws by Shipp. Biola scored the next nine points to come within 16 (60-44), but that was as close as the Eagles would get.
 
After a week of final examinations, the Warriors will resume basketball on Saturday, December 20 by hosting the Silverswords of Chaminade (Hawaii) as part of a women's and men's doubleheader. The women are scheduled to tip off at one o'clock with the men following at three.