ROCKLIN, Calif. - In their final game in Warrior Arena for the 2016-17 campaign, the lady Warriors went out with style and heart on Senior Day recognizing two major contributors to the program in a pre-game ceremony in front of the home crowd for Cara Tortorich and Tyler Swycinsky. 

In back-to-back games at home, the ladies fought as a team down to the wire in true Warrior fashion, today showing up against Hope International with a 62-51 victory over the Royals.

"Overall I'm very happy to get this win for Tyler and Cara," head coach Kurt Westendorp commented.  "It's unfortunate that Tyler wasn't able to play due to injury, but the team rallied around her and was focused on sending her out the right way."

With a pair in double figures and four just shy of that, the Warriors continued to move the ball and work together shooting an impressive 41-percent from the field over the Royals' 35-percent.

"I'm really pleased with the balance we showed again tonight," Westendorp reflected.  "With Ashlyn (Jones) in early foul trouble we needed people to step up their offensive production and we did."

Despite the foul trouble, Jones led the Warriors with a game-high 17 points, closing the season with 21-of-25 games in double figure averaging 15-points per game. 

But leading in a more dominant category this afternoon was junior Emilee VanDyke pulling down an impressive 18 boards, 7 of which were on the offensive end. 

"Emilee VanDyke had one of her best games of the season tonight," coach commenting on VanDyke versatility.  "Not only the 18 rebounds but getting 5 assists and only 1 turnover.  She stepped up when we needed her the most today."

VanDyke gained herself a spot in the single-game all-time record book taking sole possession of the No. 2 spot for boards with 18 in one game. 

The Royals set the pace early, taking the Warriors back a little bit by the slower rhythm, but the spark started at the end of the first 10-minutes of play with back-to-back baskets for the lead, 13-10.

Momentum carried over into the second quarter, as the Lady Warriors continued to push the Royals gaining a lead by as much as 9 points with just over a minute left to play in the half as VanDyke brought down the offensive board and had the put-back for a 26-17 lead.

Hope would answer back with a final bucket in the first half as the Warriors headed into the break up 26-19.

The Warriors would continue their lead by as much as 8 points through the final two-quarters. To kick-off the final 10-minutes of play for the season, the Warriors went on a 9-0 run for the largest lead of the game (13) with half a quarter left in regulation.

Trying to chip away at the lead down the wire the Royals sent the Warriors to the line where they went 4-6 under pressure, closing the second half 7-10 from the line at 70-percent.

Olivia Luu would take the final two shots of the season for the Warriors at the charity stripe, going 2-2, finishing with a total 8 points, accompanied by 6 assists and 2 steals.

Closing the season with two home-game wins the Warriors finish the year 11-15 overall and 4-12 in the GSAC. 

Westendorp closes his first season as head coach, already looking forward to the future, "Hopefully these two wins this week give us some momentum heading into an important offseason.  I can't wait to see what this group can do next season."

 
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).