By Ron Smith
January 6, 2026
 
(COSTA MESA, Calif.) Westmont Women's Basketball (8-4, 4-2 PacWest) started a three-game road trip with a 75-60 loss at Vanguard (9-1, 5-0) on Tuesday night.
 
Molly Garnand led the Warriors in scoring, tallying 15 points while pulling down five rebounds. Noemie Bariteau added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists to the Warrior cause.
 
Sage Kramer connected for seven points while recording five rebounds and two steals. Lisa Kiefer scored six points, and notched 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals. It was the eighth game in a row in which the PacWest leader in rebounding collected double-digit boards.
 
"I thought Molly had a great game of fight. She was competing like crazy," said Westmont's head coach Kirsten Moore. "Navine Mallon gave us great energy and a spark off the bench. Noemie and Skyler Knight did a great job off the bench as well. We definitely had some stretches and moments and some people out their fighting. We just didn't have enough of them consistently."
 
The Warriors could not overcome Vanguard's hot shooting from beyond the arc. The Lions made 11 of 19 (57.9%) from three-point range, including seven of 10 in the first half.
 
"We weren't good enough tonight and they were really good," assessed Moore. "They executed incredibly well and picked us apart. We have to keep getting better defensively and find a way to get stops."
 
With the game tied at five in the opening frame, Vanguard scored the next five on a layup by Emma Schaaf and a triple by Jaryn Madsen. However, the Warriors responded with a trey from Kramer and a layup by Jazmyn Shipp. Another layup from Shipp gave Westmont a 12-10 lead before the Lions' Shayla O'Neil laid the ball in the basket to even the score at 12.
 
Shipp scored again in the lane to make it a 14-12 game in Westmont's favor. However, the sophomore forward was injured on the play, left the game and did not return.
 
"Jaz scored six points in three minutes," noted Moore. "Total domination – for three minutes. Then, unfortunately, that was all we had her for."
 
Mallon extended Westmont's lead when she drained a three with 1:17 remaining in the first half. However, Aryanna Hudson did the same for Vanguard, making the score 17-15 in favor of the Warriors headed into the second quarter.
 
The Lions outpaced the Warriors 22-16 in the second period, fueled by four-of-six shooting from beyond the arc. That gave Vanguard a 37-33 advantage at the intermission. The trend continued in the second half with Vanguard outscoring Westmont 19-13 in the third quarter and 19-14 in the fourth.
 
Westmont will take the show to Fresno on Saturday for a match-up with the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific as part of a women's and men's doubleheader. The women are scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off with the men starting at 4:15.