ARCATA, Calif. – In its home opener, Humboldt State ran out to an early 12-point lead and used a balanced attack to post an 87-71 women's basketball victory over Hope International Tuesday night.
 
The Lumberjacks (3-1) scored the first five points and raced to a 23-8 advantage in the opening 12 minutes of play. HSU led by as many as 26 points early in the second half, but NAIA-ranked Hope International battled to within 10 points with two minutes left. The Jacks hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final three minutes to seal the 16-point victory, 87-71.
 
"We were able to get the ball inside and key in on some mismatches in the paint," said HSU Head CoachJoddie Gleason, who improved to 9-2 in home openers and 3-0 against Hope International. "We had balanced scoring as this team is unselfish and gives up the ball if a teammate has a better look."
 
Five players on Gleason's unselfish team scored 10 or more points and they handed out 19 assists on 25 baskets.
For the second time in as many games, Megan Shields paced the offense with 18 points on 5-for-11 shooting including a career-high three 3-pointers. She also grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots.
 
A'Jaee Foster connected on 5-of-8 tries for 14 points, pulled down eight boards and handed out four assists. Nikki Powell added 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the floor on the inside.
 
At the guards, Jae Shin and Kersey Wilcox chipped in 12 points apiece. Shin downed three treys and Wilcox had four assists.
 
Dani Gaumer had a solid all-around game with six points, eight rebounds (seven defensive) and two assists.
 
As a team, the Jacks outrebounded the Royals (5-3) by a 40-26 margin.
 
Hope International's Alexis Perry led all players with 23 points.
 
Shields started the game's scoring with her first of three treys 51 seconds in to the matchup. After a pair of Foster free throws, HSU led, 5-0, and extended the early difference to 10-2.
 
The Royals cut the score to 10-6, before the Jacks went on a 13-2 run to open a 23-8 lead at 8:29. The HSU lead hit a first period high of 20 points, 49-29, when Shin hit a 3-pointer for the final points of the half.
 
A Nyaa Davis layup, two Jessica Johnson free throws and a Powell reverse layup gave HSU its biggest cushion of 26 points three times in the first five minutes of the second half.
 
Hope International proved why it was a NAIA National Tournament squad from a year ago. The Royals trimmed the Jacks' lead down to 10 points, 80-70, with 2:01 left in the game. HSU scored seven of the final eight points to seal the 87-71 victory.
 
"In the second half, we did not play with a great deal of urgency at times. We had moments of execution on defense, but we also had moments where we lost focus and it resulted in easy buckets for them," said Gleason. "Hope International is a good team and they were the key reason why we had some of those second half defensive breakdowns. Their guard play is tough to stop, especially when they have such a good scorer in (Brittany) Bauman (who was held to seven points under her season average with 11 points) that we couldn't help off her."
 
HSU looks to make it three-straight victories Saturday night. The Jacks will host the Penguins of Dominican University at 7 p.m. in their final non-conference game of the year.