The Westmont women’s basketball team has only lost three games this season with one of those coming in Golden State Athletic Conference play.
That loss came against The Master’s, who was ranked No. 1 in the NAIA when it stormed Murchison Gym and handed the Warriors a 64-55 loss back on Jan. 18 in a battle for first place in the conference.
Since then, Westmont (22-3, 14-1) has gotten back in the saddle, as it is the No. 4 team in the country and has won its last nine contests since the loss.
Along the same road, The Master’s stumbled against Vanguard, losing by one point dropping its record to 26-1 overall and 14-1 in GSAC play.
This means when the two teams face off again today at Santa Clarita for a 5:30 p.m. tip, again the conference regular-season title is up for grabs.
Westmont will look to rely on its 3-point shooting to nab a victory on the road. Since their loss to The Master’s, the Warriors have shot 37% from beyond the arc in their nine games.
In its loss to the Mustangs, Westmont managed to shoot just 29%.
Westmont will also need to find a way to neutralize Stephanie Soares. The Mustangs’ big averages 21 points and 12.9 rebounds per contest.
Against the Warriors, Soares, a sophomore, scored 25 points and collected a season-high 24 rebounds, with a majority of those being offensive boards.
Westmont men aim to clinch GSAC title
The Westmont men’s basketball team will face The Master’s at 7:30 p.m. today and, with a win, it will clinch the regular season Golden State Athletic Conference title.
The Warriors have only dropped one league game this season, to The Master’s back at Murchison Gym, so it would be great payback to not only defeat the Mustangs at their home court but celebrate winning a regular-season conference title in the same night.
Westmont (25-2, 14-1) is led by junior guard Abram Carrasco who averages 18.3 points per game. He is efficient from the field as well, shooting 51% from the floor and 37% from deep.
Senior forward Justin Bessard will also look to put up a better challenge against the Mustangs this time around.
His first time playing against The Master’s, Bessard scored just five points and played just 22 minutes after getting into foul trouble.
Bessard, who averages 14.7 points per contest, has scored double figures in six of his last games.
email: Jmercado@newspress.com
