ROCKLIN, Calif. — The Warriors took the court Saturday afternoon looking to get back in the win column and end their recent skid of losing five of the last six games. Standing in front of them were the Southern Oregon Raiders, who entered the contest with a 6-1 record. The Raiders used a strong shooting performance, going 9-18 from deep to coast to a 64-44 victory.
 
"I thought Southern Oregon was just as good, maybe better, in some ways, offensively than what we saw yesterday from LC State," said head coach Corey Laster. "So that would be two tough games, I think these guys just took us out."
 
For the second night in a row, things were close in the first quarter. Mia Ledesma-Old Elk gave the Warriors their first lead of the afternoon with a layup that made the score 12-11 with 2:06 to play in the first frame. The two teams traded buckets once again but Southern Oregon hit a key shot at the buzzer to give the Raiders a 15-14 advantage after one quarter.
 
The second quarter spelled problems for Jessup. After JoeLyn Stirton's layup tied things up at 19 with 7:05 in the quarter, the Raiders went on a 19-2 run in the final seven minutes to take a 38-21 lead into the half. Jessup shot just 3-13 from the field in the second quarter. The Warriors turned the ball over nine times in the second as well. 
 
"Offensively, I thought their pressure really bothered us a lot. You know, we struggled handling the ball getting into stuff that we wanted to get into. Kudos to them, the defensive pressure was amazing. Probably some of the best I've seen all year long," said Laster.
 
Jessup's offensive woes continued in the third, as the Warriors shot just 4-11 coming out of the break. Monica Valenzuela ended the drought with a fastbreak layup to ignite some confidence into the Warrior offense.
 
One bright side from the game was the defensive pressure by Jessup. The Warriors had ten steals and forced a grand total of 21 turnovers in the contest. 
 
"I would say on the defensive side, we've had more spotlights than on the offensive side," said Laster. "I thought in transition, we're a little all over the place in transition tonight. That hasn't been our model. We thought we've kind of been better actually in transition the last two or three games, but tonight, we had some turnovers just trying to push tempo." 
 
Jessup spread out the attack on offense, but had no players in double figures. Valenzuela led the team in scoring with eight, while Bobbie Purify and Cheyanne Jankulovski each added six. Valenzuela led the team in rebounds as well with five while Jankulovski led with four assists.
 
Up next for the Warriors is a home GSAC battle with San Diego Christian on Thursday night. 
 
"Hopefully, we come out and we realize this is GSAC play and we bounce back and we play hard," said Laster. "And we've had great moments, we just have not strung together any consistent moments. We're playing good competition that hopefully will prepare us and a conference play."
 
After San Diego Christian, the Warriors will face Hope International at home on Saturday.
   
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).