ROCKLIN, Calif. - Returning to action for the first time in almost two weeks, the William Jessup women's basketball team used their height advantage to topple the visiting Bethesda Flames 87-69 for their fourth straight victory, improving to 8-4 on the season.

Facing a winless Bethesda team, the Lady Warriors were forced to play without starting point guard, Olivia Luu, as well as their leading scorer in Ashlyn Jones. 

"I think this [was] a good game for us to learn that we have good depth," said Warriors head coach Kurt Westendorp. "These guys stepped up and played really well." 

Despite coming in short-handed, Jessup was anything but short as they used the height of Janelle Luu, Emilee Van Dyke, and Miranda Zaragoza down in the paint to take advantage of a much shorter Flames squad.

Right from the get-go, the Warriors had their way in the paint as a Lily Hagerty lay-in put the Warriors on the board, followed by an Anisah Smith three-pointer and two Van Dyke layups. The Flames would respond with a couple Briah Nelson fastbreak buckets, but it was the Warriors with the 19-12 lead after the first period.

Using the high-low offensive scheme to isolate their taller posts down in the paint and open up the floor for the perimeter shooters, the Lady Warriors fed Zaragoza down low and found Jessica Armstrong open for a pair of three-pointers to go on a quick 17-5 run in the second quarter.

Smith would score the final five points of the first half, as the Warriors took a 47-27 lead into the break.

The bigs of the Warriors were not satisfied with their first-half dominance as Luu, Zaragoza, and Van Dyke combined to score 13 points and grab 14 rebounds in the third period alone. 

Facing a deficit as much as 24, a Vannia Morga three-pointer brought the Flames to within 18 going into the final quarter.

The final 10 minutes were much of the same, though, as the Warriors were just too tall and strong down underneath for the Flames to make any type of comeback. 

In her first start of the season, it was J. Luu leading the charge down underneath in the last quarter, grabbing boards and converting them into post-move scores.

Said Luu, "We were missing [Ashlyn] and [Olivia], and their huge contributors to our team, so I just tried to do my part to pick up the slack."

A late three-point barrage from the Flames came too little and too late, as the Warriors would walk away with their eighth win of the season.

J. Luu led the Warriors with a career-high in both points (17) and rebounds (15). Zaragoza would add yet another double-double to her name with 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Van Dyke tallied eight points and 10 rebounds. Hagerty and Smith both chipped in 10.

The Lady Warriors will hit the road to take on Warner Pacific College in Oregon next Monday with a 5 pm tip-off.

Said Westendorp, "We're putting in a few things to get ready for conference, really competing with one another, and not looking at, so much, the three games that are remaining [until conference], but more the practices and how much better we are getting." 
 
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).