LEWISTON, Idaho –Total team effort. Those were the words of Lewis-Clark State College women's basketball Head Coach Brian Orr after the Warriors routed NAIA Division II's second ranked Southern Oregon Raiders 90-51 in the second game of the Twin Rivers Physical Therapy Classic on Friday.
 
LCSC entered the game 4-0 on the season and ranked seventh in the NAIA Division I Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll, but they took a step up in competition on Friday and never missed a beat. The Warriors raced out to a 13-point first quarter lead and never looked back.
 
"I think at times our non-conference schedule has been a little lax, but from this point on I think everybody's going to give us a fight," said Orr. "We had the team built up that this was going to be one of the better teams we are going to play and we are at home and we wanted to set the tone. The fact that they are ranked second in the nation we wanted people to know we are right up there with them."
 
Set the tone they did. LCSC limited the Raiders to just three made baskets in the first 10 minutes, resulting in nine points. The Warriors converted just five of 15 attempts in the opening period, but went 11-for-12 from the free throw line, scoring nine straight points to close the opening period with a 22-9 lead.
 
"When I saw it was going to be an up-and-down game we tried to sub often," said Orr. "It's one of those games, you try and tighten up the bench a bit because you are playing a good opponent, but when [Southern Oregon] was going up and down, looking at them, I knew we too were fatigued a bit and I just wanted us to stay fresher than them. Everyday our team comes out and gives everything they've got."
 
The rotation worked as the Warrior defense limited the Raiders offense to just four made baskets and eight points in the second quarter while the offense continued to click, scoring 25 points for a 30-point, 47-17 halftime lead.
 
Brittany Tackett started the scoring with a jumper and Caelyn Orlandi scored the next six Warrior points to push the margin to 19. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Brooke Litalien and Natahnee Spencer pushed the margin to 25. Tackett capped a six-point run late in the quarter to push the margin to a first-half high 32 points, 47-15.
 
While the Raiders offense improved in the second half, the Warriors did as well as LCSC maintained a 30-plus point margin for the final 20 minutes, pushing it to a game-high 39, the final margin, on a three from Sam Runkle and a Megan Risinger layup in the final minutes.
 
The Warriors finished the contest 32-of-69 from the field (46.4%) including a 40 percent mark (10-of-25) from beyond the 3-point arc. Lewis-Clark also converted 16-of-18 from the charity stripe (88.9%), grabbed 57 rebounds, doled out 24 assists against 11 turnovers and tallied eight steals.
 
Defensively, the Warriors held the Raiders to 23.1 percent shooting (18-of-78) including a 17.1 percent mark from the 3-point arc (6-of-35).
 
"I always like to look at our field goal percentage and I thought we shot the ball better in the second half, but we turned it over so many times, that was disappointing," said Orr. "We look out of sorts at times and overpassed a few times and passed up some shots, but seeing so many players in double figures is great to see."
 
Six Warriors crossed the 10-point threshold led by Orlandi's game-high 20 to go with seven assists. Spencer netted 14 points while Jossilyn Blackman netted 13. Litalien and Hailey Turner each scored 12 with the latter grabbing a game -high nine rebounds.
 
"I love this team," said Orr. "I told them we have a chance to be really special if we don't lose focus and don't get too full of ourselves. The toughest thing about being good is you have to prove it every single day, whether it's at practice or in a game, you have to prove it. This team is determined and I'm very happy with where we are at."
 
In the first game of the Twin Rivers PT Classic, Montana Tech defeated College of Idaho 81-61. The full schedule and results can be found at www.lcwarriors.com/twinrivers.
 
The Warriors will put their unblemished record on the line against the College of Idaho in the final game of the Twin Rivers Physical Therapy Classic on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 5 p.m.