BILLINGS, Mont. - The No. 23 Lewis-Clark State women's basketball team pulled off the upset on Wednesday afternoon in the Rimrock Arena when it defeated the No. 9 William Penn Statesmen 64-58. The Warriors led for the majority of the contest before hitting key shots in the final minutes of the game to earn their spot in Friday's second round.
 
"We beat a really good team to advance to the next round," coach Brian Orr said. "When you win 30 games, you would expect to be seeded higher, so I am sure they came in with a chip on their shoulder. It really helped that we got off to a great start, but it didn't take long for William Penn to make it a back-and-forth contest."
 
Hannah Burland put up the game's first point with a free throw a minute and a half in, and Jossilyn Blackman added two more with a pair of foul shots with 7:08 on the clock. Cali Moscrip nailed a 3 off her own defensive rebound before Burland found her way to the basket to put LC up 8-0 with 6:13 on the clock. The Warriors held the Statesmen off the board for the five and a half minutes of the opening quarter.
 
William Penn struck for six-straight to pull back within two before Blackman snapped the run with a basket at 3:07. Abby Farmer and Kiara Burlage both hit 3-pointers in the final three minutes and LC carried a 16-12 lead after the first 10 minutes.
 
Abbie Johnson opened the scoring in the second quarter with a 3 a minute in. The Statesmen answered with back-to-back triples to cut the Warriors' lead to one at 19-18, but Johnson responded with a basket to increase the lead back to three at seven minutes in the half.
 
A three-point play from the Statesmen even the contest 21-21. Burland put the Warriors back in front with a pair of foul shots at 5:12 before Peyton Souvenir nailed a 3 to bring the advantage to 26-21 with 4:46 on the clock. William Penn fought back to tie the game 26-26 in the final two minutes but the Warriors regained the lead with basket by Hailey Turner at 1:56. Jamie Nielson added to the advantage with back-to-back buckets, including a 3, to give LC a 33-26 heading into the locker room.
 
The Statesmen opened the second half with five-straight points to pull within two at 33-31. Johnson scored the first LC points of the half at 5:16 on a three-point play to push the lead to 36-31. Souvenir made it six-straight with a 3 at 4:36.
 
Turner and Nielson added eight points to the LC total before Moscrip chipped in a bucket in the final minute and the Warriors led 49-44 heading into the final frame.
 
William Penn hit a 3 a minute and a half into the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to one at 49-48, but Turner drained a pair of free throws and Souvenir added a jumper to grow the advantage back to 53-48. The Statesmen tied the game at 53 each midway through the period before taking a 55-53 lead at 5:11.
 
Turner knotted things up 55-55 with 4:15 on the clock, but William Penn answered with a 3 to retake the lead with three minutes to play. Turner brought the Warriors with one with under two on the clock before putting LC back in front 59-58 with a pair of foul shots.
 
Moscrip put LC up by two with a free throw with 36 seconds, and with 20 seconds left Johnson was sent to the foul line. She made both shots before Burland did the same.
 
The Warriors pulled off the upset with a 64-58 victory over William Penn and will face LSU Alexandria on Friday at 9:45 a.m. PDT.
 
Turner led the Warriors with 13 points, followed by Johnson with 12. Souvenir dished out a tournament-leading nine assists and Blackman grabbed nine rebounds.
 
As a team, hit nine 3s led by Souvenir and Nielson with two each. They held William Penn to a 33 percent field goal percentage and forced 16 turnovers. They scored 18 points off the giveaways.
 
"We had a lot of players step up and make big plays all game," Orr said. "It was definitely a team win. We didn't shoot really well but hardly any team does in their first game, but we shared the ball and found the open player. We really rebounded well and made some big free throws down the stretch to secure the win."
 
The Warriors move on to face LSU Alexandria who upset No. 8 Westmont to secure their spot in the second round. Tip-off is set for Friday and 9:45 a.m. PDT.