LEWISTON, Idaho – The visiting Walla Walla Wolves came to play on Thursday night and gave the No. 12 Lewis-Clark State Warriors a challenge. After a slow start, LC State took control of the contest and came away with a 65-48 victory to improve to 7-2 on the season.
"You have to respect your opponent, and you've got to come out and play," coach Brian Orr said. "We didn't have the energy to start the game and we weren't ready to defend. We didn't get into a really good rhythm offensively all night long and had too many turnovers. We will do better next game.
"The second half we stayed with our zone almost the whole time," Orr explained. "When Abbie Farmer and Hannah Burland came into the game, especially in the first half, we had more energy on the floor. Abby really pushed the ball and got the transition game going and both brought a lot of energy."
The Wolves jumped out to a 6-0 lead to open the game before a 3-pointer from Jamie Nielson kick started the offense. A bucket from Kiara Burlage and a pair of foul shots by Jansen Edmiston brought the Warriors within one at 8-7 five minutes in. Burland put LC State in front 9-8 with a basket at 3:31 and the Warriors never looked back as they held a 13-10 advantage after the first 10 minutes.
Farmer hit the first basket of the second frame to grow the lead to 15-10, and Abbie Johnson sparked a nine-point run that had the Warriors up 25-14 at 5:18. Madeline Weaver and Burland went back-to-back to add five points to send LC State into the break leading 30-20.
The Warriors held Walla Walla off the boards for the first six minutes of the third quarter as Burlage, Peyton Souvenir and Johnson combined for a nine-point run. Rachel Schroeder ended the quarter with a bucket to make it 46-30.
The fourth quarter was the tightest of the four, with the Warriors winning the frame 19-18. Alexis Sykora dropped in the first three points for LC State in the quarter before Schroeder hit back-to-back buckets to bring the lead to 53-33 at 7:41. A free throw by Sara Muhelhausen gave the Warriors their largest lead of the game, a 21-point margin at 65-44, with 1:20 to play.
Nielson led the Warriors with nine points in the contest, followed by Souvenir with eight. Burlage and Burland each dropped seven points. Burlage led the defense with 11 rebounds and Souvenir dished out six assists and collected four steals. Every Warrior scored in the contest.
The Warriors continue the homestand on Monday and Tuesday when they welcome Maine-Fort Kent. Both games will begin at 5:30 p.m. Check out lcwarriors.com for promotions and tickets.
