Warriors Overcome Down Night to Upend BenU

By Brandon Petersen

The Westcliff women's basketball team handed old Cal Pac rival Benedictine Mesa its first loss of the season Thursday in Mesa, Arizona, 57-53.

Jayla Reliford led the way for the Warriors with 15 points. Nine of those came from the free throw line.

The Warriors shot just 15.4% from three and 37.3% from the floor.

However, Westcliff was solid at the line, shooting 17-of-23, and ultimately winning a battle of free throws.

BenU's Alize Ruiz had a game-high 21 but shot 4-of-16 from the floor. Ruiz put in work at the line, however, finishing 13-of-14.

"It's definitely great to get a win on the road, but I wouldn't say that anybody was satisfied with it," Westcliff assistant coach Japhe Pleasant said. "It's a blessing when you can learn lessons in a win rather than a loss, so we know what areas we need to clean up and we'll be ready for a next matchup with Arizona Christian."

Hayley Berfield finished with 10, and Chloe Wright had nine.

Reliford, Wright and Kassidy Beach all have five rebounds.

Reliford had five steals, and Elaine Rivera picked up four more.

Coming off the bench, both Maria Serrano (nine points, three rebounds) and Natalie Satamian (eight points) put in a nice night's work.

Although the Warriors had 14 steals as a team, the Dubs had just five assists to 25 turnovers.

It says a lot about the team, however, to be able to pull out a win on a night like that.

Riding a nice two-game win streak, the Warriors must clean it up Saturday when they visit No. 15 Arizona Christian.

Tip is set for 7 p.m.