Lady Warriors Pull Together for 'Tooch'
The Westmont women’s basketball team captured its first-ever Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) regular season championship Feb. 21, and the players took turns cutting down the net in Murchison Gym. The Warriors pounded the Master's 70-53 on Feb. 29 in the first round of the GSAC Tournament and will host Biola University on Friday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 general admission; $8 for senior citizens; children 14 and under are free; and Westmont students are free thanks to the Office of President Gayle D. Beebe.
Tugce Canitez, 6-foot-2 junior forward and native of Izmir, Turkey, led the lady Warriors this season. Canitez, or “Tooch” as her teammates call her, has been named the GSAC Player of the Year while head coach Kirsten Moore earned GSAC Coach of the Year.
Canitez led the GSAC in scoring, tallying 560 points (averaging 19.3 points per game). She was second in rebounding (averaging 10.3 per game) and fourth in field goal percentage at 50.4. She sank more than 75 percent of her free throws, ranking seventh in the conference.
“She’s not just a scorer, she’s also an incredible rebounder and passer,” says Moore, who is due to have her first child in July. “She makes everyone around her better. She’s a good defender, and she has a high basketball IQ and understanding of what’s going on with the game. I believe the completeness of her game is why she was honored as the Player of the Year.”
Canitez, who transferred to Westmont this year from North Idaho City College, joined Katie Kittle on a trip to Colusa during a four-day holiday last fall. During the seven-and-a-half hour drive back to Montecito, Kittle had the idea to bring Canitez’s parents to the U.S. to watch their daughter.
“I believe God planted a seed in my heart and gave me the passion and vision to make it happen,” says Kittle, a senior captain who was named to the All-GSAC team.
The team kept the plan a secret from Canitez, contacting a coach in Turkey who put them in touch with Canitez’s parents, Nuri and Birsen. “We broke the news to her on her birthday,” says Jillian Wilber, a junior from Fillmore who was named a GSAC Scholar-Athlete. “We had a little party and gave her a card to read. In the card we taped a copy of the airplane tickets, showing that her parents were coming out to visit. At first she just set the card down and said thank you, which is when we knew she hadn’t even read it. We made her read it again, and then on the third try she freaked out, having realized what we had just told her. She started crying and everyone gave her a huge group hug. It was such a beautiful and special moment.”
Lisa Peterson, a senior captain and All-GSAC team member from Citrus Heights, says it took a team effort, working together to raise the funds and make the necessary arrangements. “This was definitely a bonding experience — everyone was able to contribute in some way,” she says. Peterson remembers near the end of Canitez’s parents’ visit, they prepared an authentic Turkish dinner for the entire team. “The food was delicious, and it was a great evening with the entire Westmont basketball family.
“This experience has taught the team how much we love each other and how important everyone is on our team. Everyone matters on this team, and if we really want to accomplish something we have the tools to make things happen.”
Wilber says it was amazing to witness Canitez’s joy in interacting with her parents. “We worked together for something that was greater than ourselves and greater than basketball, and it brought us closer than any victory or winning season could do.”