ROCKLIN, Calif. - In their first home contest after a tough 4-game road trip, the William Jessup women's basketball team used the hot hand of Anisah Smith to overcome an early double-digit deficit and beat the visiting Merced Bobcats 61-57 to improve to 5-4 overall.
 
After a slow offensive start and needing a spark, Smith put the Warriors on her back with her sizzling shooting from beyond the arc and crafty moves in the paint.
 
"Honestly it started in the team room with our devotion," said Smith after her career shooting night. "There wasn't really a point where I thought 'I'm feeling it' but there was a point where I thought 'I gotta turn it on.'"
 
The Lady Warriors turned the ball over six times in the first quarter, allowing the Bobcats to get out in transition and take an early 20-9 lead.
 
Seeing the deficit grow to 13 early in the second quarter, the Warriors would face an uphill battle the rest of the way. Smith would not back down from the challenge.
 
Finding space on the baseline, Smith splashed home a three-pointer to trim the Bobcat lead to single-digits. Smith would go on to score 12-straight points, leading the Warriors to a 17-3 run to close out the quarter.
 
"We just needed to settle down on the defensive end after the first quarter," said Jessup head coach, Kurt Westendorp. "We made the switch to a zone and that really broke their rhythm."
 
The charge by Smith and a switch to an extended 2-3 zone defense gave the Warriors a 30-28 lead heading into halftime.
 
Feeling the momentum shift, the Bobcats stormed out of the half eager for a repeat of the first quarter. However, the Warriors would not give in as the third quarter saw two lead changes and five ties with the score knotted up at 45-45 going into the final quarter.
 
The Bobcats started the fourth on a 6-0 run, but a quick timeout by Jessup seemed to flip the switch. A Lily Hagerty three-pointer and another Smith layup brought the score back to 53-51 with less than seven minutes to go.
 
In a game full of lead changes and ties, it was none other than  Smith who helped the Warriors pull away for good. The Bobcats simply had no answer as Smith went on to score eight points in the final quarter, including the last six overall.
 
With less than 20 seconds remaining and needing a bucket to make it a two-possession lead, Smith sliced through the defense one final time to put the nail on the coffin and give the Warriors their fifth win of the season.
 
"My team's energy and defense are what really got me going," said Smith.
 
Smith finished with a career-high 26 points on 12-17 shooting, while also pulling down six rebounds. Ashlyn Jones pitched in eight points and six rebounds, Miranda Zaragoza finished with seven points and 11 rebounds, and Janelle Luu had seven points and six rebounds.
 
The Lady Warriors will take a week off of games in respect to Thanksgiving Day and travel to Angwin, California next Wednesday to take on Pacific Union at 5:30 pm.
 
Said Westendorp, "I think we have a lot of happy Warriors heading into an extended break."  
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).