SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The first jump ball of the season went up on Thursday as the Warriors took a trip to the capital city for an exhibition against the Sacramento State Hornets. Taking on the defending Big Sky champions, Jessup pulled off the shock as they knock off the Hornets in their nest, 51-44.
Jessup's victory is a marquee way to kickstart year three under coach
Corey Laster. The Warriors went 14-13 a season ago and will be looking to return to the GSAC Tournament in their final season as conference members.
"The girls were confident coming in," said Laster. "We didn't know much about them coming into the game. I think it was nice to see the team come together and work together in terms of talking and communicating."
Now in her second season with the Warriors, guard
Andrea Jovicevic led all players on the court with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting. The former DI athlete, during her time with the Nevada Wolfpack, added a perfect 6-of-6 showing from the charity stripe to pair with six boards.
The rebounding game was led by newcomer
Neomi Davidson, who brought down 12 boards in her first appearance in the royal blue and red. Jessup outrebounded the Hornets 37-29 on the night.
On Davidson's debut, Laster noted, "She's just a glue kid. She's really gritty. You can put her in a lot of spots, and I thought her rebounding was outstanding. She got a lot of key boards and just did a great job defensively. I talked to her about doing a lot of the little things for this team, and she's taken that on and made a huge difference."
Jessup found themselves on the wrong end of a 13-3 run in the second quarter, sending the game into the half with the Hornets ahead 27-19. Laster spoke about the message he gave his team leading into the third, which saw the Warriors bounce back with a 12-5 advantage.
"We talked about trying to win the third quarter," said Laster. "They held us 13-3 in the second, but then we turned around and held them 12-5. I think the girls started to get confident, and we were able to get things going offensively."
On what went wrong in the second quarter, Laster added, "There was a point in the second quarter where we were just not making good decisions. We were taking too many quick shots."
The fourth quarter would also go in the way of Jessup, as the Warriors outscored Sac State 20-12 on the way to a victory.
With momentum behind them, Jessup now looks forward to their official season opener when they host Westcliff University on Thursday, November 2. The matchup with Westcliff will officially kick off the 17th annual Bill Holtz Warrior Classic, which runs through November 4.
Jessup will be donating 100 percent of the proceeds from ticket sales for the Holtz Classic to ALS research. To purchase your tickets, click
HERE.
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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 Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter & Instagram).
