Posted: Jan 07, 2024
The Westcliff women's basketball team has lost two in a row to start the new year as they fell to Park-Gilbert 60-55 on Saturday afternoon.
It's not how the Warriors would have liked to start the new year, but you can't deny the fighting spirit of this team as they went on a late 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to put themselves up by four points.
Just before the late-game run, the Warriors were down by their biggest deficit 49-39 with seven minutes to go in the fourth period.
But Jalen Long knocked down a three-pointer as she had been all game long and started a heroic effort by the home team.
Katie Nguyen and Valisa Millhouse added with a couple of baskets and two minutes later the Warriors had tied the score 49-49.
Millhouse's jump shot put Westcliff up by two points after trailing for the majority of the game.
A few possessions later Millhouse knocked down two free throws to put the Warriors up 55-51 with under three minutes left to play.
But a key turnover by Westcliff led to a rough possession afterward in which Park-Gilbert was able to grab three offensive rebounds and eventually knock down a three-pointer to tie the game up.
This was a momentum killer for the Warriors who weren't able to score again as the visiting team finished with a 5-0 run to seal the game away.
It was a tough loss for the Warriors who fought all game long and knew they had plenty of chances to win this game too.
With the loss the Warriors are now (5-6, Cal Pac 3-3) and are on a two-game losing streak.
Long played really well and was feeling it from beyond the arc as she knocked down five three-pointers. She scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out four assists.
Millhouse who was also part of the late run had 14 points, five rebounds, four steals, and three assists.
The team shot 34.4% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc.
After this game, Westcliff will have a couple of days of rest to regroup before their next game which will be next Thursday at La Sierra.
