Santa Barbara- It's a safe bet that the Westmont Warriors would rather not see the Firestorm again this season. While coming out with a loss, the Firestorm once again showed how close they are to being considered among the best in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Statistically, the Firestorm (12-10, 6-5 GSAC) should have been getting run out of the building on Thursday night. With #3 Westmont (20-3, 10-2 GSAC) holding a +21 rebounding advantage, and two key players for the Firestorm having 3 fouls in the first half, this one had all the makings of a blow out.

"Other than heart and effort we should not have been in this game" Coach Odell Berry said, "They beat us all night on the boards, and when you consider that and the foul situation it should have been a blowout.  But great D and only having six turnovers on the night kept us in the game."

Sophomore Forward Courtney Christmas led the way with 16 points as every time it looked like the Warriors were pulling away, the Firestorm came running right back. Both quarters in the first half so the Firestorm get off to a slow start and fall behind, but some timely shots put them right back in the game.

The first half saw the Warriors put in back to back three-pointers, including a buzzer beating one, to take a six point lead into the half. It then saw them continue their sharp shooting in the start of the third quarter as they claimed a twelve-point lead early on. But behind some timely shots and clutch rebounding by Junior Forward Suzie Castro-Larsen, the Firestorm were able to cut the lead to 4 heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter saw a lot of the same as the Warriors were never able to truly put the game away. While the Firestorm were able to keep the Warriors at a single digit lead of most of the quarter, they were never able to capitalize on their strong defensive effort.

Said Coach Berry, "We never felt out of the game until the closing seconds. The Firestorm ladies played tough to the very end."

With the playoffs still very much in play, the Firestorm know they still have business to take care of, But there is no doubt that the idea of making their first playoff appearance has got a lot of these kids attentions.

"We talk about it every day" Coach Berry said,  "and we hope we are fortunate enough to see Westmont again this season."