ROCKLIN, California - Eager to take the floor after suffering their first loss of the season last weekend, the William Jessup women's basketball team took care of business at home against the visiting UC Merced Bobcats by a final score of 67-58.
Each squad had their fair share of opportunities throughout the contest, particularly in the first half.
Jessup was cooking early, igniting the offense on a 12-0 run to start the game. It was junior
Aycee Willis, a transfer from nearby Sierra College, providing the spark for the Warriors early on--scoring six of the teams first 10 points.
Like a flip of a switch, UC Merced then got themselves back into it with an 8-0 run of their own--all eight of those coming from Mia Belvin, who came into the contest leading the Bobcats in scoring.
Junior
Miranda Zaragoza found herself in foul trouble early on, forcing head coach
Kurt Westendorp to sub her out for much of the first half.
Both teams went back and forth to end the first and into the second quarter with Belvin trimming the Bobcat deficit to just two with six minutes remaining in the half.
Much like the first quarter, the switch turned back on for the Warriors with an 8-1 run only to watch the Bobcats end the half on a 7-0 run.
A pair of free throws from Haylee Owen made the score 29-27 with Jessup heading into the break with a slim margin.
Just as expected, the game of runs persisted into the third quarter with Jessup starting off on an 11-2 run. Willis turned it back on in the quarter, knocking down a trey-ball to give Jessup a 41-29 lead.
The Lady Warriors outscored UC Merced 19-13 in the third, giving them an eight-point lead going into the final frame.
Coach Westendorp noted that his team "did a good job turning defensive stops into transition baskets to give us a solid lead late in the third quarter."
The pesky Bobcats refused to go away, though, as Owen dropped in a couple of lay-ins, followed by a Belvin three-pointer from deep for good measure. A couple of Deyliana Lewis free throws later and the scoreboard showed 53-49 with 4:49 remaining.
After sitting out much of the game due to foul trouble, Zaragoza checked back in, and her presence was immediately felt on both ends.
A block on the defensive side followed by an offensive rebound rewarded her with a pair of free throw opportunities. Back-to-back easy layups by Willis and Zaragoza extended Jessup's lead to 58-53 with just over two minutes to go.
Merced's last hopes were shattered thanks to
Liz Gehweiler knocking down all six of her free throws in crunch time.
The Bobcats were able to take this one down to the wire despite shooting just 26 percent from the floor, but the final horn sounded with the Warriors walking away with their third victory on this young season.
Willis led the scoring charge for Jessup, tallying a season-high 18 points. Gehweiler was not far behind, scoring 17 and dishing out five assists.
Creonah Bryant chipped in 13 with eight rebounds. Zaragoza added another double-double to her resume with 10 points, 13 rebounds.
Coach Westendorp concluded by addressing the the various scoring runs by each team, saying, "Tonight was a game of runs and we had one more than UC Merced did." He also spoke on how his team made needed improvements. "We did a nice job of cleaning up our offense in the second half by taking much better care of the basketball and getting the ball inside." Jessup will take a brief playing hiatus, kicking things back up next weekend with a home matchup against Pacific Union College at 5:30 pm on November 16th.
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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.edufor more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat).
