By Ron Smith
January 3, 2026
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Despite 15 points from Mariah Brown and a double-double by Lisa Kiefer, Westmont Women's Basketball (8-3, 4-1 PacWest) suffered a 71-60 home court loss to the Cougars of Azusa Pacific (8-4, 4-1). Brown added six assists and a pair of steals to her totals while Kiefer's first double-double of the year (sixth of her Westmont career) consisted of 11 points and 12 rebounds. Kiefer also tallied four steals and three assists.
 
"Azusa has been playing really well," said Westmont's head coach Kirsten Moore. "They have come off some really big wins with a lot of momentum and I think they were able to keep that going today. They shot the ball incredibly well.
 
"That is on us, too, for not playing better defensively. That has to be our focus. They got way too many good looks and they capitalized. I thought they played phenomenally, especially shooting the basketball."
 
Azusa Pacific shot 55.3% from the floor (26 of 47), including 50% from 3-point range (9 of 18). They were also 10 of 11 from the free throw line.
 
Westmont outrebounded Azusa Pacific 41-24 and had more offensive rebounds (22) than defensive (19). Molly Garnand contributed six rebounds to go along with her six points. Jazmyn Shipp collected five boards (all offensive) and tallied 11 points in just 16 minutes of play.
 
"I liked our effort on the boards," expressed Moore. "We turned the ball over way too much, but had less turnovers than they did. In that respect, our defense was disruptive. However, we didn't convert those opportunities. Too often, we would get a steal, then turn it over right back to them."
 
After Azusa Pacific started off the game by jumping out to a 9-4 lead, the Warriors scored the next nine points to go up 13-9. The run started with a jumper by Brown and included two layups by Kiefer and a triple by Shipp. However, the Cougars got things turned around and finished the quarter on a 13-4 run to claim a 22-17 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
 
Westmont battled back in the second frame, eventually tying the game at 28-all on a long-range shot by Brown with just over two minutes to play before the intermission. A free throw by Sage Kramer gave Westmont a one-point lead before Audrey Sayoc hit a three to give the Cougars a 31-29 advantage.
 
However, Bailey Fong responded in kind, dropping in a trey to put the Warriors back on top 32-31. Then, Garnand connected on a jumper to give Westmont a 34-31 lead. A layup by Nivia Glorioso, however, narrowed the Warriors' advantage to 34-33 at the buzzer.
 
The game turned in the third quarter with the Cougars outscoring the Warriors 21-12. Azusa Pacific made eight of 10 from the floor in the penultimate period, including four of four from Elyse Mitchell and three of three from Audrey Sayoc. Headed into the final frame, the Cougars led 54-46.
 
Brown drained a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter, pulling the Warriors within five (54-49). However Westmont went cold offensively and did not score for the next five minutes. The Warriors would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
 
The big questions now are, 'How do we respond from this?' and 'What do we learn in a way that can make us better?'" stated Moore. "I definitely think we can be better than we were tonight. We are going to need to be if we want to beat the better teams in this conference. We turn around with another really big game on Tuesday and have to go on the road for most of the rest of the month. Hopefully we will have a good response to tonight's loss."
 
Westmont begins a three-game road trip on Tuesday, January 6 at Vanguard (8-1, 4-0), who sits atop the PacWest standings, one-half game ahead of Westmont and Azusa Pacific. Then, the Warriors head to the Central Valley in order to take on Fresno Pacific (4-6, 1-4) on Saturday, January 10. On Thursday, January 15, the Warriors will travel to La Mirada for a rematch with Biola. The Warriors won the first meeting this year by a score of 68-49.