ROCKLIN, Calif. - There is nothing better than a season-opening win and the Warrior's women's basketball team did just that on Monday afternoon as they played host to the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers taking the lead from start and finishing with a 61-48 victory.

Taking over the helm and collecting the first win was head coach Corey Laster who said, "Honestly, we didn't know what to expect with a late start, but we went into it by focusing on what we were trying to do and getting better and consistent with that. I loved the environment and was very pleased with the results for our first game."

It was a 9-0 start for the Warriors to open the first two and a half minutes of play to set the pace and that nine points belonged to a solo player. Monica Valenzuela started the game with a three-pointer on the first possession and would continue that run with a trio of layups in the paint. The starting transfer would end with a team-high 19 points on the night.

Coach Laster commented on Monica's hot start. "She is a versatile player and offensively really got us going. She got us off to a great start and when we were struggling offensively she always came up with a big bucket."

The Mountaineers would answer back throughout the first 10-minutes of play capped by a 6-0 run down the stretch but the Warrior would still hold the lead, 15-14. Valenzuela collected 11 of the Warrior's 15.

With just three minutes remaining till the break, they were down by one and would gain the lead on a layup in the paint that would spark a 10-0 run for their largest lead of the game thus far 33-24 with just over a minute remaining. A three-pointer by Eastern Oregon would be the last basket of the first half as the Warriors went into the locker room ahead, 33-27.

Forcing 19 turnovers in the first half, the Warriors set goals at the break to continue to capitalize on the strong defense and hold their opponent to just 20-points in the remaining half.

"I try to hang our hat on the defensive side, that's something we can hang our hat on," Laster commented. "We did that well tonight. Our goal was to hold them at 20, we talked a lot about limiting their threes and taking away what they were good at, in transition." 

Despite the Mountaineers winning the third quarter column, 10-9, the Warriors maintained the lead headed to the final quarter with their goals still in sight. 

Midway through the final quarter, Makaila Glynn would steal the show as she had a trio of back-to-back baskets to levitate the Warriors to a double-figure lead, 55-44 with just over a minute remaining. Returner, Joelyn Stirton would sink the jumper down the stretch and go two-for-two from the charity stripe to make it the largest lead of the game by 15 points with just 45-seconds to play.

Out-scoring Eastern Oregon 19-11 in the final quarter, Jessup was just one point shy of their 20-point hold of their opponent in the second half. But a strong defense continued as they handed the visiting Mountaineers 30 turnovers.

Valenzuela led the Warriors in her 19-point appearance accompanied by a team-high 5 rebounds, followed by Glynn with 11 points and Natalie Moulos with 10. Senior Juliette Caughey would tally a second-best five rebounds while Cheyenne Jankulovski and Caughey had a team-high 3 assists each.

With just one game under their belt, Laster said there is still a lot of work to be done. 

"Our motto is one game at a time. We went deep tonight in the lineup and I was very impressed with our young players that did great for their first college experience, while we still have a lot of development left to do with the group and these games will help us build off of what we are doing."
 
The Warriors will host the Annual Bill Holtz Classic this Thursday through Saturday in Warrior Arena, tipping it off on Thursday night at 7:30 PM against Lincoln University. You can head to jessupathletics.com/tickets to buy your single-game tickets or tournament pass today.
   
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).