LEWISTON, Idaho – No. 7 vs. No. 18. Two undefeated teams. Two 2015-16 NAIA I Final 8 programs. A rematch of last season's Frontier Conference Championship. That was the backdrop on Thursday night as the seventh-ranked Lewis-Clark State College women's basketball team opened Frontier Conference play against the 18th-ranked University of Great Falls inside the LCSC Activity Center.
 
The game lived up to its billing early on, but the Warriors' fast pace and solid defense was too much for the visiting Argonauts as LCSC pulled away for a convincing 99-74 victory to move to 12-0, the programs best start since going 14-0 to begin the 2013-14 campaign. UGF falls to 9-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
 
"I really liked how we came out offensively and just had that attack mentality," said Warriors Head Coach Brian Orr. "We just kept attacking the backset and it really opened things up on the outside. When we have 23 assists and only six turnovers, that's really being efficient and taking care of the ball. Overall offensively I was pleased with our performance."
 
There was a lot to be pleased with as the Warriors shot 47 percent from the floor, 35-of-74, which included a 10-of-20 night from the 3-point arc, a 50 percent mark. The Warriors also converted 19-of-26 free throws, a 73.1 percent clip.
 
Nine different players scored for LCSC, led by Brittany Tackett's 20 while Caelyn Orlandi and Brooke Litalien each added 19 and Lauren Johnson chipped in with 11. Hailey Turner grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds while Orlandi served up eight assists and Natahnee Spencer added seven more dimes.
 
"I thought on defense we had a couple lulls, but when you attack offensively as often and as fast as we do, you are going to give the opponent some opportunities," said Orr. "UGF is a pretty good team and we wanted to hold them under 40 percent shooting tonight and did just that. It was a total team effort, the way we rebounded tonight, I don't know if we've rebounded like that in the last two, maybe even three years. I wish we were a little more efficient on the put backs, but overall I was extremely pleased with the way we played tonight."
 
The defense held the Argonauts to 38.7 percent from the floor, 29-of-75, and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc, 10-of-24. LCSC also played a clean game as UGF attempted just 10 free throws, of which they made six.
 
LCSC led from start to finish and won in every phase of the game with a 17-9 points off turnovers margin, a 46-30 points in the paint advantage and a 16-4 edge in fast break points. The Warriors also won on the glass, 48-43.
 
The visiting Argonauts kept the game close early with ties at 5 and 12 points, but the Warriors never trailed and extended the lead after each tie. Tackett and Litalien did the heavy lifting early as the pair accounted for the first 10 LC points. With Lewis-Clark State up 10-5, UGF went on a 7-2 run, powered by four points inside from 6-foot-4 center Whitney George, but Orlandi snapped the 12-12 tie with a pair of free throws. The Warriors outscored the Argos 11-7 to close the opening stanza with a 23-19 lead.
 
LCSC opened the second quarter fast with a 14-4 run to increase the lead to 13, 37-24. Four different players scored in the run for LC and the rout was on. The Warriors hit 10-of-22 shots in the quarter and 9-of-12 free throws to outscore the visitors 31-17 in the frame. LCSC took an 18-point lead into the locker room.
 
The Argos got as close as 17 points in the third quarter, on a George layup, but LC added two points to the halftime margin and then slammed the door with a 22-17 fourth quarter.
 
"I was never really comfortable because of how fast we play," said Orr. "When you play as fast as we do teams can get back in the game. Fortunately we have a lot of weapons out there and we were able to continue to build the lead throughout the game. We wanted to make sure we kept our pace up and didn't get into a lull offensively and I thought our girls did a great job and carried out the game plan.
 
We are really good in transition. If I can just stay out of their way, not call any sets and just let them play we'll be fine. They were fun to watch tonight."
 
The Warriors have a quick turnaround with an early morning practice on Friday before hosting 16th-ranked Montana State-Northern on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m.
 
"Northern is really good and they have a tendency to control the pace. Can Northern slow us down, that's the question," said Orr.