LEWISTON, Idaho – Natahnee Spencer set career-highs with 27 points and seven 3-pointers, the third most in program history, to lead the Lewis-Clark State College women's basketball team to a hard fought 82-72 victory over College of Idaho on Saturday night in at the LCSC Activity Center.
 
The win moves the seventh-ranked Warriors to 6-0 on the season and made LCSC the only team to go 2-0 in the Twin Rivers Physical Therapy Classic. The Coyotes fall to 0-4 on the year and 0-2 in the classic.
 
Spencer was on fire in the first half as she finished the opening 20 minutes 6-for-6 from the 3-point arc. She helped the Warriors to shoot 75 percent from three, going 12-of-16 as a team, to build a 47-33 lead at the break.
 
"I'm disappointed, I don't know why we couldn't get her more shots," said Warriors Head Coach Brian Orr on Spencer's big night. "I couldn't be happier for her. All her work has paid off and I think she's one of the best 3-point shooters in the country. She proved tonight she's deserving of the playing time she's gotten."
 
Despite the great first half from beyond the arc, the Warriors offense struggled at times to find a rhythm and the Coyotes never went away. The visitors from Caldwell, Idaho made several runs in the second half, winning the final 20 minutes, 39-34, but LCSC found a way to answer and get the win.
 
"You have to give College of Idaho a ton of credit," said Orr. "I thought they played well in the loss last night, and to come in today and play the way they did was really impressive. We have some things to work on in our zone offense, but they came here to play and we just couldn't find a rhythm on offense. They made a run at us in the second half, but when it came down to it we made the stops we needed to and got the win. "
 
After shooting 63 percent in the first half, 17-of-27 from the field, the Warriors knocked down 12-of-29 shots in the second half for a 41.4 percent mark and really cooled off from long range, converting just 2-of-11 in the final 20 minutes. The Coyotes converted two less baskets in the second half, but went 6-of-16 from long range to keep the game close.
 
The game was tight early and College of Idaho took the lead 9-8, but Spencer got hot, hitting four of her six first half threes over the final 4:30 in the first quarter to help LC finish the period on an 18-7 run. Lauren Johnson also hit a pair from long range as LCSC went 8-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first quarter and built a 26-16 lead.
 
An Alyssa Case 3-pointer and a Petra Lumpert jumper cut the lead to eight twice in the second quarter, but each time LC responded, first with a Caelyn Orlandi layup and the second time with a Spencer three that sparked an 11-2 LC run. A Megan Risinger basket pushed the margin to a first-half high 20, 47-27, at the 2:32 mark, but a pair of Case three's cut the halftime margin to 14, 47-33.
 
The Coyotes got off to a hot start in the third quarter, using a 12-4 run to cut the margin to six, 51-45. A Hailey Turner jumper and a pair of Spencer free throws pushed the lead back to 10, but Madison Pilster nailed a three for COI to again cut the lead to seven. Brooke Litalien drained a three and Lauren Johnson scored a layup, but Lumpert hit another three to make it a nine-point, 60-51, game at the 2:27 mark. A pair of Turner jumpers in the final 30 seconds helped LC to a 13-point fourth quarter lead.
 
LCSC maintained a double-digit lead for much for the final quarter until another Case three cut the lead to nine with 1:40 to play. Tuner answered with a jumper and Orlandi and Spencer converted at the charity stripe to seal the win.
 
"We want to treat every game the same," said Orr. "It's hard sometimes, we were feeling good about ourselves today and I felt we were confident coming in tonight, but you never know what might happen. They shot the ball really well and had a couple players step up. I thought Alyssa Case and Petra Lumpert each played really well and hit some big shots."
 
Spencer's 27 was a game-high and she added four assists while Orlandi and Turner each added 10 points. Orlandi also dished out seven assists and Tuner and Spencer each grabbed a team-best five rebounds.
 
"Hailey hit some big jump shots there in the third quarter to really give us some breathing room," said Orr. "The high post was open all night, but we missed one and seemed hesitant to shoot it, but she played extremely well tonight and she gets better every single day. As soon as she gets better defensively I know we've got an all-conference player."
 
Lumpert finished with 22 points and 11 assists to lead the Coyotes while Case added 15 points.
 
The Warriors finished the contest 29-of-56 from the field, a 51.8 percent mark, which included a 14-for-27 night from three, a 51.9 percent clip. LCSC also went 83.3 percent from the line, as they knocked down 10-of-12. At the other end, the Coyotes finished 24-of-56 from the field (42.9%), 10-of-28 from three (35.75) and 14-of-19 from the charity stripe (73.7%).
 
In the other women's contest on Saturday, Southern Oregon defeated Montana Tech 83-74.
 
For their efforts, Spencer was named tournament MVP while Orlandi also earned All-Tournament team honors.
 
The next contest for LC will be on Friday, Nov. 18 against Xavier University of Louisiana at 8 p.m. in Las Vegas, Nev. The game is the first of three in three days the Warriors will play as part of the Frontier Conference Las Vegas Shootout hosted by Carroll College. The Warriors hit the road for their next five games before returning home on Dec. 1 at 5:30 PM against the University of Great Falls.