Lancaster, Calif. - The women's basketball team opened the 2018-19 season with a split, at the Pioneers Classic, hosted by the University of Antelope Valley. The Golden Eagles defeated Bethesda University, 70-61, in Friday's season opener, before falling to Arizona Christian University, 52-87, on Saturday night. In other action, Antelope Valley, the tournament host also split their two games, by losing to Arizona Christian and defeating Bethesda.
Friday, November 26
La Sierra def. Bethesda, 70-61
The Golden Eagles women's basketball team won every quarter but the fourth quarter in the team's season opening win over the Flames. The Golden Eagles held Bethesda's offense to just 24 points in the first half of play, and went into the locker room, at halftime, with a 31-24 lead. La Sierra withstood a few runs by the Flames but never relinquished the lead and held on for the victory.
Alexis Davis led the way for the Golden Eagles with 24 points to go along with six rebounds. Arianna Sheehy shot 4-of-6 from the field, to finish with 11 points and three steals. Octavia Williams added nine points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, while Siena Jones and Dayna Tanaka each contributed eight points in the win.
Saturday, November 27
Arizona Christian def. La Sierra, 87-52
After the Firestorm dominated play after the first quarter of play, the Golden Eagles were unable to keep pace, and eventually dropped their first game of the season. The Golden Eagles started hot and jumped out to an 11-point lead before concluding the first quarter of play with a slim 16-15 lead over ACU, but the Firestorm regrouped to take a 36-29 lead into the halftime break. The Firestorm came out of the locker room determined to build on their lead, as evidenced by outscoring La Sierra 31-11 in the third quarter alone. The third quarter gave the Firestorm a comfortable lead as they cruised to victory.
Williams led the team with 12 points and seven rebounds. She was joined in the effort by Davis who was the only other Golden Eagles player to finish in double-figures in scoring, with 10 points, to go along with six rebounds.
The women's basketball team will play host to Life Pacific College, in their home opener, on Thursday, November 1. Thursday's non-conference game will be the first ever meeting between the two schools in women's basketball, which is scheduled for a 6pm tip-off.
