FULLERTON, Calif. – Following a perfect homestand last week, the Warriors packed up their momentum and hit the road for Southern California and Hope International University. A great third-quarter setup would looked to be an exciting finish, but in the end, what could have been wasn't, as the Warriors fell 60-44.
 
Trailing by ten at the intermission, 31-21, the Warriors jumped out of the gates in the second half to an 11-0 run. The second-half lead was surrendered before the quarter ended, but Jessup trailed the (RV) Royals by just three entering the fourth.
 
"We came out a little bit more purposeful," said coach Corey Laster on the third-quarter run. "We didn't play that well in the first half, and we were still only down ten. We should have been down seven, but we gave up points at the end of each quarter."
 
The fourth quarter of Thursday's action was not one to remember, as the Royals outscored Jessup 18-6 following what looked to be a neck-and-neck battle.
 
"We have a lot of young kids who were playing, and I honestly thought it showed when we lost the lead and so," added Laster. "I kind of kicked myself. My game plan was to be way more aggressive than we were, especially on some of the screening actions that they run. And I thought we just held back too much."
 
"We needed to be way more aggressive with some of our schemes, and, you know, the third quarter kind of lulled us into a false sense of what we were doing was working."
 
Cheyenne Jankulovski again led Jessup in the scoring column as she finished with a team-high 16 points. Jankulovski scored 10 of her points in the second half, eight of which came in the third quarter alone.
 
It was a close ballgame for the majority of the first quarter as well. The Warriors held an early 12-11 lead before allowing the Royals to score the final four points of the quarter, taking a 15-11 lead into the second.
 
It was all HIU in the second frame, as they outscored Jessup 16-9.
 
Thursday's road loss drops the Warriors to two games under .500 at 10-12. In conference play, the Warriors now sit at .500 with a record of 5-5.
 
Only one player finished the game in double-figures for the Warriors. JoeLyn Stirton and Jennifer Pedretti finished the game with seven and six points, respectively.
 
The Warriors will look to wash away this loss and get back on track on Saturday when they visit San Diego Christian College. It will be the final road contest Jessup plays before coming home for two weeks.
 
Life Pacific and Vanguard will be in Rocklin next week, followed by Menlo paying Warrior Arena a visit the following weekend.
   
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).