ATHERTON, Calif. - With a two-week break in the rear view mirror, the Warriors got some much needed rest during the holiday to come back fueled and ready to start the New Year off right. The Warriors did just that against Menlo College with a down-to-the-wire 82-74 win on the road to advance to 1-1 in conference matchups.

"It's tough to carry momentum from before Christmas to after the new year but tonight was an extension of the way we played at Pacific," head coach Kurt Westendorp commented. " Our intensity level stayed high at both ends of the floor.  I'm very proud to start the new year with this positive momentum!!"

The Warriors jumped out early against the Oaks with an offensive presence that would carry them through to halftime. After the first 20-minutes on the court, the Warriors had a quartet of players with 8 points, Olivia Luu led the pack with 8 points and 5 assists.

With a seven-point advantage at the half, the Warriors were shooting better than ever from the hardwood with a 56.6 field goal percentage, going 5-9 from beyond the arc and 10-14 from the free-throw line.

"Tonight was the best we have shot the ball all season partially because of the work we did to get our teammates clean looks.  We attacked the paint and did a nice job moving the ball to find our teammates," said Westendorp.

But The Oaks came out defending home court in the third quarter going on a 8-0 run in the first 3:30 to come within two-points of the Warriors (43-41). Jessup continued to battle down the stretch to hold a one-point advantage going into the final quarter of the game (55-54).

The final quarter kept fans on the edge of their seats with three ties and four lead changes in the first 5 minutes. After Menlo took their final lead with 2:30 left to play the Warriors went on a 12-0 run sparked by back-to-back three's by Lily Hagerty and Olivia Luu.

In the second half Jessup dominated the boards as they out-rebounded The Oaks 19-9 with Emilee VanDyke snagging 7 rebounds alone.
Westendorp confirmed that was tonight's focus, "The stat that we were the most focused on was winning the rebounding battle.  We battled hard in the 2nd half to finish plus 10."

Down the stretch in hopes to regain a lead Menlo played the fouling game forcing the Warriors to the line to put the pressure on. Jessup went 7-8 in the final minute of play from the free-throw line, with point-guard Rona Chavez going 6-6 down the stretch.

Four Warriors finished in the 82-74 victory over Menlo in double figures. O. Luu led the Warriors with 19 points, going 4-5 from beyond the arc with 8 assists. Luu was accompanied by teammates R. Chavez with 17 points and 6 assists, Ashlyn Jones with 14 points and 6 rebounds, closed out by Sara Vasquez with 11 points, going 3-4 from the three-point arc.

As a team the Warriors finished shooting 51-percent from the field, 52-percent from three-point range and 21-26 from the free-throw line.

"We're hoping to carry this momentum into our next two games in Warrior Arena against two top-10 teams," Westendorp concluded.  "Pulling an upset in one of these next two could really shake up the early season GSAC standings!"
 
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).