ROCKLIN, Calif. – Life on the road has temporarily come to a halt for the Warriors, as following a four-game road trip across multiple states, the Warriors returned home to face the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. The basket was not friendly to Jessup, as they dropped their official preseason finale 63-35.
 
After the game, head coach Corey Laster was displeased with the effort he saw out of his team, describing it as "One of the worst performances I've seen effort-wise, that was a challenge. And, you know, a lot of times our philosophy of play, like, I didn't see anything in terms of what we're teaching during on the floor."
 
With the game even at 5-5 early in the first quarter, UCSC proceeded to score the game's next seven points to pull ahead 12-5. After a 3-pointer put the Banana Slugs ahead 15-7, Jessup clawed back into the game with layups from Bobbie Purify and Jacklyn Kulow to send the game into the second with UCSC leading 15-13.
 
The second quarter was an area of emphasis for the Warriors after their mid-game struggles against Pacific on Thursday. UCSC embarked on a 10-0 run midway through the period that stretched their lead to 31-17. The Warriors would only manage to score six points in the second.
 
Much of the same occurred in the third period, as UCSC outscored the Warriors 17-9 to take a commanding 50-28 lead into the fourth.
 
The final quarter of Saturday's battle was one the Warriors want to quickly wipe from their memory as they shot just 2-of-15 from the floor.
 
Jessup was matched by a 36.5-percent showing by the Banana Slugs. The Warriors shot 20-percent overall and just 6-percent from distance.
 
Purify ended the night as the Warriors' leading scorer with eight points. Jennifer Pedretti and Monica Valenzuela each scored five.
 
Laster noted that the Warriors came into Saturday too overconfident, something they need to fix moving forward.
 
"Our communication was awful, probably the worst I've seen. And at the same time, like, you know, I thought we came in this game a little overconfident and like we had a lot of like noise during warmups."
 
There is plenty to clean up for the Warriors, who fall to 3-4 on the young season. They will get just shy of a week to improve before traveling to Southern California for the GSAC opener.
 
"We really need practice time," added Laster. "Honestly, I think practice time without games, I think for us, it's everything. If it's rotations, effort, as we still don't know who our lineup is at this stage. I think we've seen up and down play from a lot of people."
 
Jessup will be in Costa Mesa on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff with Vanguard University before heading to San Dimas on Saturday to take on Life Pacific.
   
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).