LEWISTON, Idaho – In the first of two games in two days against the Maine-Fort Kent Bengals, the No. 12 Lewis-Clark State women's basketball team dominated the pace of the game and everyone got a taste of the scoring. The Warriors raced past the Bengals with a fast-paced offense, efficient 3-point shooting and tight defense in an 89-55 victory.

Kiara Burlage got the scoring started with a quick layup on the assist from Peyton Souvenir. Following the bucket from Burlage, LCSC built up a 17-4 lead before forcing the Bengals to call a timeout with 3:04 left in the first quarter.

A fast break kicked things off in the second quarter as Rachel Schroeder burst past the defense for a layup. Despite the tight defense and efficient scoring from LCSC, a 3-point shot from Maine-Fort Kent brought the Bengals within 11, making the score 39-28 in 1:42 in favor of the Warriors. Freshman Madeline Weaver capped off the first half by splashing a 3-point shot home, giving the Warriors a 45-28 lead going into the second half.  

"We wanted to keep the pressure on them all night long," coach Brian Orr said. "We wanted to run and keep pushing up the floor. I thought our players did a good job of attacking."

In the second half, Maine-Fort Kent scored first with a quick basket, but the Warriors were quick to respond with a layup of their own from Abbie Johnson. After exchanging a couple buckets, the Bengals called for a timeout following a steal and a layup from Souvenir at 7:42. After the timeout, back-to-back 3-point shots from Jansen Edmiston and Abbie Farmer created a 20-point advantage. The Warriors continued their fast-paced attack carrying a 69-42 lead into the final ten minutes of the game.

A layup from Johnson within a minute of the start of the final quarter kept the Warriors right where they left off. Despite a push by the Bengals, a pair of 3-point shots from Jaime Nielson and Weaver put the Warriors up by 33, leading Maine-Fort Kent 83-50 with under four minutes left to play in the game.

In the game, the Warriors had four girls with double-digit scoring – Nielson tied a career-high with 19 points, Johnson and Edmiston each had 12 and Burlage added 10. As a team, LCSC shot 46 percent from the field, 42 percent from beyond the arc and had 17 steals. Every Warrior scored.

"It's always good to have a game where the basketball is going through the hole," said coach Orr. "It's good to get that going before we head up north to take on Whitworth."

The Warriors are back in action with a quick turnaround and face Maine-Fort Kent again Tuesday night at 5:30 in the Activity Center.