BUTTE, Mont. – The road warrior mentality continues this weekend for Jessup as the longest road trip of the season in terms of distance officially began Friday night. Beginning the first of back-to-back games in Montana, the Warriors started fast but ended slowly as they dropped this one to the Montana Tech Diggers.
 
Friday's first quarter was a drastic improvement from Wednesday night in Merced, as the Warriors never turned the ball over and took a commanding 19-12 lead into the break.
 
Scoring early and often for Jessup was Monica Valenzuela, as her 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first were leaps and bounds ahead of the field. As a team, Jessup shot 46.7-percent from the field in the first.
 
The second quarter saw the Diggers match Jessup's intensity, as both teams put up 20 points apiece to get the Warriors' advantage at 39. Guard JoeLyn Stirton began to heat up in the second, scoring six points in the quarter to put her in double digits at ten.
 
Jessup looked to be in the driver's seat at the break, but out of the locker room is when the game took a 180-degree flip.
 
Montana Tech opened the third quarter on an 11-0 run that put the Warriors behind for the first time since early in the first quarter. The Diggers stretched their lead up to as many as six in the period, outscoring Jessup 18-7 in the third to take a 50-46 lead into the fourth.
 
It looked like a comeback was in the cards for Jessup as they held Montana Tech to just two points in the first four minutes of the final quarter, but the Diggers would end the night on a 16-7 run to put the game out of reach, ending night one in Montana with a 68-56 loss.
 
Valenzuela led the Warriors in scoring Friday night, as she tallied 19 points to pair with eight rebounds. Stirton was right behind her with an 18 point night of her own on 5-of-7 from distance.

As a team, the Warriors shot just 6-of-29 from the field in the second half, ending the night with a complete shooting performance of 34.5-percent.
 
Tavia Rooney of Montana Tech led all players with 20 points. The Diggers shot 40-percent from the floor.
 
Night two of this two-night Montana trip takes place tomorrow night as the Warriors visit No. 21 Montana Western in Dillon. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. (PST).
   
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 and Instagram).