REDDING, Calif. - The heralded depth of the 2016-17 NCU women's basketball team was on full display in the season opener on Tuesday night as the Beacons snagged a road victory from Simpson University, 71-69.
 
With multiple starters plagued by foul trouble early on, the reserves stepped up their game, eventually outscoring the Redhawks bench, 33-17. Ashley Land came off the pine to lead the team with 13 points, hitting four three-pointers. Connor Borigo played solid minutes, especially in the first half, in place of Hanna Mack who was straddled with a pair of early infractions. Freshman Hannah Eddens also had a strong debut with eight points and a team-high seven rebounds in a reserve role.
 
Head Coach Heath Alexander said, "Road wins are not easy but we found a way against a team that is way better than their record shows. We got some huge plays from our bench when we needed them. Ashley hit some huge shots, Hannah rebounded and scored it well in the post and Conner gave us great minutes when Mack was in foul trouble."
 
The Beacons (1-0) shot just 36% in the game and were only 3-for-14 from three-point range in the second half. NCU was out-rebounded 41-33 but did force 22 Simpson turnovers as they collected 12 steals. "We have things to clean up," said Alexander, "but when we needed to we made the plays that made the difference."
 
Land scored the team high with 13 and was followed by Niki Duncan with 12 and Katerina Brejchova with ten. Duncan collected four steals and Monique Thompson led the team with four assists.
 
Simpson (2-5) was led by Whitney Rodriguez in the post, shooting 9-for-10  to end the night with 22 points and 11 rebounds, both game highs. Esther Wofford added 16 points, five assists and four steals.
 
The Beacons will be back in action this weekend when they travel to play in the Las Vegas Frontier Shootout.