LEWISTON, Idaho – Players and coaches agreed – Peyton Souvenir had her swagger back and with it came her ability to lead the Lewis-Clark State women's basketball team to a 53-43 Frontier Conference victory over Montana Tech at the Activity Center Thursday night.
 
"I really loved the way Peyton played tonight," coach Brian Orr said after the Warriors improved to 17-5, 7-4. "Like one of the players said, Peyton has her swag back."
 
Not only did she provide a team-best 12 points but she took over the on-court command of the team as the Warriors weathered a first-half turnover flurry and second-half shooting woes.
 
"It wasn't pretty by any standards," Orr said. "I'm so disappointed in our turnovers the first half. We have to do a better job. We have to play smarter; we have to make better decisions.
 
"We shot the ball well in the first half but when you turn the ball over as much as we did, it kind of negates that."
 
The Warriors were 12 of 26 from the field in the first half but had 12 of the 17 turnovers in the opening two quarters.
 
While their turnovers dropped in the second half, so, too, did the Warriors' effectiveness from the field (eight of 26 from the field). The result was two low scoring quarters and a game that remained in the balance until the Warriors built a 12-point, 53-41, lead with 5:22 to play. The only points scored in the final 5:22 were a field goal by Tech's Mesa Williams with 1:24 to play.
 
LC's defense and rebounding (a 47-27 advantage) made the difference when the shots weren't falling.
 
"Our defense was solid all night long," Orr said. "That was the thing that kept us in the game.
 
"When you look at our effort on the boards, obviously I'm happy with that."
 
Jossilyn Blackman added 10 points to Souvenir's 12. She also had eight rebounds as did Hailey Turner but it was Abbie Johnson who led the rebounding effort with nine. Souvenir and Turner both had three assists and both had two 3-point goals as did Abby Farmer.
 
Mollie Peoples led Tech with 16 points.
 
The Warriors are at home for a Frontier Conference game against Montana Western at 2 Saturday.