Box Score BILLINGS, Mont. – It took the LCSC women's basketball team a quarter to start extending themselves in the First Round game against William Penn in the NAIA National Tournament.
 
 But once they started clicking, the Warriors rolled to a 59-45 victory over the Lady Statesmen to move to the Sweet 16. They will play No. 5 Bethel (Tenn.) Friday March 17 at 5:15 p.m.
 
 "The first game of a tournament isn't always the prettiest," head coach Brian Orr said. "We got off to a slow start. Could've been nerves but a lot of it was their defensive pressure. This was a tough matchup.
 
 LCSC outscored William Penn in every quarter en route to their 32nd win of the season. The Warriors are one win shy of tying the school-record 33 set in the 2006-07 season.
 
 Lauren Johnson led the Warriors with 14 points. Caelyn Orlandi was next with 12 and Hailey Turner added 10.

 "Lauren was key in the first half," Orr said. "Her 3-ball was the difference and she played great."
 
 Orlandi started the scoring with a 3-pointer 35 seconds into the game. She would also hit another one two minutes later giving the Warriors a 10-4 lead, causing William Penn to call a timeout and regroup.
 
 Regroup they did as they came charging back and finished the quarter on a 10-4 lead to tie the game 14-14 after the first 10 minutes.
 
 For the first five minutes of the second, each team was trading baskets and no one could go on a run to extend any lead. Tied 25-25, the Warriors finally were able to get away, finishing the quarter on a 13-4 run. Johnson's layup with two seconds left gave LCSC the momentum into halftime. The Lady Statesmen were creating havoc though on the boards grabbing 11 offensive rebounds in the half.

 An 8-1 run to start the third gave the Warriors enough breathing room for the rest of the game, leading by a game-high 17 points.
 
 The Warriors shot just 38.6 from the field and 8-of-23 from beyond the arc. LCSC got most of its work from the defensive end forcing a cold shooting day for William Penn at 25.8 percent and forced 17 turnovers.  

 Looking forward to tomorrow, coach Orr says the test is even greater.

 "Bethel executes. They are extremely well coached and they are hard to prepare for. They shoot the 3-ball well but they also have bigs down low that can score. They're a solid team."