November 15, 2023

Warriors Lose Close Game to Westmont College

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By Francisco Claudio
 
The Westcliff women's basketball team was coming off their first win of the season as they traveled to Westmont College on Tuesday.
 
A big third quarter by the Westcliff helped them close in on Westmont, but they would eventually fall 57-54.
 
The Warriors started the game strong led by Jalen Long who scored nine points on 4-5 shooting in the first quarter.
 
But the second quarter was not kind for Westcliff as they struggled to make baskets and made only 33% of their shots.
 
This is when Westmont extended their lead to double digits and it would stay that way for the rest end of the second quarter.
 
Westcliff was determined to make a push and came out in the third quarter as the better team and shot the ball better.
 
They won the quarter 14-6 and were only down by three points going into the fourth quarter.
 
The fourth was a back-and-forth battle which didn't help the Warriors who were the ones down and needed to get over the hump.
 
The fourth quarter finished with each team scoring 14 in it and Westcliff's record would go down to 1-2 for the season.
 
But despite the loss, there were some bright spots including Eva Taylor who scored a game-high 18 points and went 6-9 from the three-point line.
 
Taylor has been shooting the ball well from behind the arc which is something that is carrying on from the end of last season.
 
"Eva has been doing a great job shooting the ball for us, as she picked up where she left off last season," said associate head coach Mary Dishoian. "Her teammates do such a great job of getting her open looks and she does a great job of knocking them down.
 
"When she continues to shoot like this, it opens up the floor for everyone else to get to the basket, and for herself as well as they might overplay her shot."
 
It's still early on in the season and the Warriors know that these games are all in preparation for when the conference schedule begins in two weeks.
 
"We have never focused too much on the wins and losses aspect of each game," Dishoian said. "The girls fought hard and gave us 100% effort and energy for all 40 minutes against a very talented and prolific Westmont team.
 
"Of course, we would have loved a tally in the win column, however, there was a lot to learn in this 'loss' as well."

One factor that Westcliff will look to improve on is taking better care of the ball because they turned the ball over 21 times.
 
"Turnovers will always be a point of emphasis for our team this year," Dishoain said. "We believe the only way you can beat us is by forcing us to turn the ball over. 
 
"We did such a great job of forcing them into turnovers as well which allowed us to climb back into the game, we just ran out of time."
 
Up next, the Warriors will take on Hope International on Thursday, November 16th, at 5:00 PM.