NKyTribune staff
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Iyree Jarrett and Stefanie Berberabe combined for 46 points as No. 4 Westmont (Calif.) captured the NAIA national championship with a 72-61 win over No. 1 Thomas More on Tuesday night.
Jarrett scored 23 points and grabbed five rebounds for Westmont, which won its 15th consecutive game and finished the season with a 15-1 record. The Warriors’ only loss this season was a 68-56 setback at Pepperdine, which is an NCAA Division I program.
Emily Simon led Thomas More with 14 points. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
Berberabe also netted 23 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the field. Lauren Tsuneishi added 14 points and five rebounds for Westmont, which began the season ranked No. 1 nationally in the NAIA poll.
It marked the second NAIA national championship for the Warriors, who also won the 2012-13 crown with a 71-65 triumph over Lee (Tenn.) in the title game.
Emily Simon led Thomas More (29-2) with 14 points. The Saints — playing without All-American guard Zoie Barth, who suffered a leg injury during Monday’s national semifinal game against Morningside — shot 38.6 percent from the field and lost the rebounding battle by a 42-36 margin.
Summer Secrist added 13 points for Thomas More, which entered Tuesday night with a 14-game winning streak. The Saints had not lost since dropping a 73-63 decision at Lindsey Wilson on Jan. 18.
Thomas More held a 22-19 lead early in the second quarter after Simon buried a 3-pointer, but Westmont responded with an 11-0 run to take a 30-22 advantage with 2:38 left before halftime. Jarrett and Gabriella Stoll combined for all 11 points during that game-changing spurt.
With Thomas More trailing 51-48 in the fourth quarter, Tsuneishi buried two consecutive 3-pointers to extend the Westmont lead to 57-48.
Taylor Clos finished with 11 points and five assists for Thomas More, which won back-to-back NCAA Division III national championships in 2015 and 2016. The Saints added a third national crown in 2019 before transitioning to the NAIA last season.
The NCAA forced Thomas More to vacate the 2014-15 national championship and all 33 victories due to an eligibility issue that was discovered after the season.
(Information compiled from the NAIA and staff reports)
