Warriors Defeat Northern New Mexico on Second Day of Pioneer Classic
San Dimas, CA - On Saturday afternoon, the Warriors traveled up to Lancaster to take on Northern New Mexico on the 2nd day of the Pioneer Classic. Northern New Mexico came off of an impressive victory the night before as they defeated Liberty (CA) by double-digits. LPU held the lead for the entire game, completing the wire to wire victory over NNMC by a final score of 59-52.
The Warriors came out from the jump, controlling the pace of the game and being stingy on the defensive end. The Warriors were solid early on as they slowed things down and forced the Eagles to take tough shots. Midway through the 2nd quarter, the Warriors were able to extend their lead to 9 at 26-17, on a Serinity Thomas layup, but the Eagles were able to capitalize on a couple late buckets, as they trimmed their deficit to 5 entering the half. LPU led by a score of 28-23 at the half.
In the 2nd half, the Warriors relied on what was working for them as they controlled the rebound battle with 39 rebounds to the Eagles' 32, along with holding Northern New Mexico to 30% shooting from the field for the game. Thanks to a clutch and-one basket in the 4th quarter, the Warriors pushed their lead to 12 points. Ultimately this proved to be too much for the Eagles to overcome, as the Warriors finished with the win by a final score of 59-52.
LPU was led by sophomore guard, Rachel Spinosa, who finished the game with an extremely impressive stat-line, as she did a lot of everything. She finished the game with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, while also getting 6 steals on the defensive end. Junior guard, Julianna Sanchez was impressive as well in the win, finishing with 14 points and 4 rebounds. Freshman forward, Faith Harris, was vital for the Warriors in the win, establishing herself on the glass with 4 rebounds, while scoring 6 points as well. As a team, the Warriors played unselfishly, finishing with 12 assists on 22 made baskets.
When reflecting on the team's first victory of the season and the first in his collegiate head-coaching career, Kyler Kennedy stated, "I'm extremely proud of our team today. We showed resilience, grit, and unity throughout the game. We have a long season ahead of us and we are so excited to get after it and attack the season one day at a time. Great step in the right direction for our girls!"
Impactful Warrior Performances
- 25 points
- 9 rebounds
- 6 steals
- 5 assists
- 14 points
- 4 rebounds
- 6 points
- 4 rebounds
NEXT GAME:
- November 5th @ 6:30pm | vs. Occidental College
- San Dimas, CA (Mehl Court)
- Watch the game live at lpuwarriors.com/watch