SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Coming off a strong road win last week, the Warriors took it to the pavement again traveling up to San Francisco to take on the Gators in an exhibition game. Despite a fourth quarter comeback, the Warriors came within a basket with less than two minutes left to play, but the San Francisco Gators held on for the 60-52 advantage.

"Very proud of our effort tonight against a very long and athletic SF State team," head coach Kurt Westendorp commented.

Jessup got in the groove of playing catch up against the Gators starting the first quarter when they trailed by as much as 7 points with a little more than three minutes to play. But the Warriors managed to finish the first 10-minutes of play just trailing by a basket, 13-15.

The Lady Warriors would take their first lead just three minutes into the second quarter with a basket in the paint by Leilua Iosia going up 16-15. Both teams would continue to exchange baskets and possessions through the final minutes of the half, but the Gators added a late three by Erika Nilsen for the four-point advantage going into the break (22-26).

Junior Ashlyn Jones more than doubled her points from the first half (7), coming out firing to start the quarter, followed by teammate Olivia Luu hitting one from downtown to cut the Gator lead to 4. San Francisco would go on a run to close the third quarter up by 10 (46-36).

Jessup wasn't done quite yet with the final 10 minutes ahead of them, looking to cut the 10-point deficit. The Warriors would go on a 7-0 run before the Gators connected in the final quarter. It was a team effort down the stretch as Rona Chavez added a deep three for the Warriors before Jones hit an and-one opportunity to get the Warriors within 2 points with a little more than a minute to play.

"We executed very well tonight but struggled to finish several good looks," Westendorp reflected.  "Our floor game was good enough to win tonight, but we couldn't overcome the cold shooting."

Jones had a career-high 23 points accompanied by 7 rebounds, Lily Hagerty added 9 points and 3 rebounds and Chavez closed out the stat leaders with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Jessup will remain at 3-1 on the season closing out their November competition against San Francisco State in a 60-52 loss. They come home to host Bethesda University on December 1st in Warrior Arena, tip-off at 5:30 pm.

"Our team will definitely build from this effort as move closer to GSAC play," Westendorp concluded.  "This game prepared us for the challenges that we will face down the road."
 
William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat).