ROCKLIN, Calif. - The Lady Warriors competed in their final game at home for 2016 against Dort College in a down-to-the-wire battle. Down 9 points with the final quarter ahead of them, Jessup managed to get within one with just under 4 minutes to play in regulation, but the Defenders went on a run defeating the Warriors 69-61.
"We were on our heels from the start today," head coach Kurt Westendorp commented. "Dort did a nice job of being aggressive on the boards and attacking the basket. It knocked us back, and really it was a struggle the rest of the game to catch up after that slow quarter."
The Warriors were off to a sluggish start against the Defenders in the first quarter, holding a 9-point advantage. Despite the strong offensive effort by Emilee VanDyke in the paint for the Warriors in the first half with 12 points, they heading to the locker room down by 7, but with plenty of time left to play.
"We were just trying to close the gap right away, which went the complete opposite way," Westendorp said of their halftime pep talk. "We were trying to get it to be a tie game by the fourth quarter, and it ended up us being down by 9."
The Defenders led by as much as 14 in the third quarter as the Warriors continued to claw their way back from sluggish start out the gate. Three-point machine Rona Chavez fired one up in the last minute of the third to put the team within 9 with one quarter left to play (41-50).
In the final quarter the Warriors were on a rollercoaster ride to battle back with just four minutes to play down by one, but with three Warriors fouling out in that same time span, they weren't able to get ahead of the Defenders.
"I am very proud of how we fought back being down by 9, all the way cutting it back to one. But we probably expended too much energy, and put ourselves in a bad spot with that third quarter," said Westendorp. "When you're trying to play catch-up you have to play more people and take more risk. I am still proud of the effort they gave; those players that did foul out, they still played strong even knowing they were probably going to foul out from playing catch up."
The Warriors head to Stockton to take on NCAA Division I, University of Pacific on Wednesday in an exhibition contest before taking a break for the holidays.
"Basketball is a long season, so we are looking forward to spending time with our families over Christmas, really recharging our batteries," coach Westendorp said. "We will be ready to come back refreshed, hit the ground running and with a ton of energy going into the conference games."
Upon their return, the Warriors will host Vanguard to bring in the New Year on Jan. 5th for Military Appreciation Night, tipoff at 5:30pm followed by the men at 7:30pm.
"We are very happy to be 6-3 going into Christmas. The progress the team has made from September to now is monumental," Westendorp reflected. "We know we have to be improving because we have to be at our best, playing up to our standards just to compete in the GSAC."
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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).
