LEWISTON, Idaho – Four Lewis-Clark State players reached double-figures as the Warrior women opened Frontier Conference basketball play with a 74-69 victory over Montana Western at the Activity Center Thursday night.
 
Jansen Edmiston had 14 to lead the way with Hailey Turner adding 13, Brittany Tackett 12 and Peyton Souvenir 11. And the Warriors (8-2, 1-0) needed all of them to counter Montana Western guard Brianna King, who poured in 30.
 
"Offensively," coach Brian Orr said, "we didn't have any rhythm in the first half. We didn't execute. We didn't stay with our plan."
 
The Warriors did have a couple short runs, however, that enabled them to pull ahead 31-27 at the half. Orr saw an offense that he liked much better in the second half as LC was able to extend its lead to 13, 63-50, on Souvenir's 3-pointer with 5:53 remaining in the game.
 
"We did a better job getting the ball inside, finishing plays," Orr said. "Then we started hitting some 3s."
 
In a reversal of the first two quarters – for which the Warriors drew praise from their head coach for their defensive effort, LC's defense waned as the game wound down. Montana Western chipped away at the 13-point lead to close to within three, 72-69, on two free throws by King with 23 seconds to play. Turner added two free throws with 17 seconds to play to provide the final margin.
 
"Our defense in the second half left a little to be desired," Orr said. "Our guards didn't take care of the ball."
 
At the end of the night, the Warriors had committed 14 turnovers, which led to 14 points for the Bulldogs. Still, they held Montana Western to 39 percent from the field and – with two each from Tackett and Jossilyn Blackman, tallied five blocked shots.
 
"We have a play-fast system but we need to control the ball," he said. "We want to be quick – but don't hurry."
 
Blackman led the Warriors on the boards with seven, while Turner and Souvenir had five each.