BILLINGS, Mont. – The No. 23 Lewis-Clark State women's basketball team is moving on to the Elite Eight after a hard-fought win over the LSU Alexandria Generals. The contest was a back-and-forth battle, but a big third quarter by the Warriors pushed them ahead to a 69-66 victory.
 
Jossilyn Blackman put up a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. She credits the team's ability to play together as a large factor in the win.
 
"I thought we did really well at staying together as a team," Blackman said. "They are a really good team and we both fought until the end. I think that team effort really got us the W."
 
"We survived! One of the things you have to do when you're at the National Tournament is weather the storm," coach Brian Orr said. "Every team is good so you have to be prepared for the inevitable run of your opponent."
 
Abbie Johnson and Kiara Burlage went back-to-back to give LC their first lead of the game at 8-7. The Generals answered with a bucket to regain the lead, but a 3 from Hailey Turner kept the Warriors in the game. A pair of foul shots by Johnson put the Warriors back in front 14-12 with four minutes to play in the first quarter. Burlage knotted things up once again at 18-18 with under a minute to go before Cali Moscrip nailed two foul shots to give LC a 20-18 advantage after the first 10 minutes.
 
The Generals opened the second frame with a 7-2 run to take a 25-22 lead. Johnson and Turner scored back-to-back baskets before Hannah Burland added a free throw to keep the Warriors within six. LSU Alexandria outscored the Warriors 19-11 in the second to lead 37-31 at the half.
 
Burland opened the third quarter with two points, but LSUA quickly responded with their seventh 3 of the game. A pair of free throws from Blackman brought LC within five at 40-35 a minute in. Burland dropped in a triple and Blackman made her way to the basket to cut the deficit to 42-40 with 7:12 to play. Moscrip found Johnson under the basket to tie the game up less than a minute later.
 
The Warriors took a 44-43 lead on a pair of free throws from Burland at 6:13 and the two teams continued to battle back-and-forth. With 3:46 on the clock Johnson completed a 3-point play to give LC a 49-46 advantage. Souvenir added a pair of free throws and Emily Banks chipped in a basket to keep the Warriors in front by a slim margin. LC won the third quarter 24-15 and led 55-52 heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
LSUA drew the first points in the fourth quarter, but Blackman quickly answered with four-straight to grow LC's lead to 59-54 with 7:28 to play. The Generals took back the lead with four minutes to play before back-to-back three-point plays from Moscrip and Turner gave the Warriors a 67-62 advantage. Blackman added a bucket with an assist from Turner and put LC up 69-64 with a minute to play.
 
LC hung on to clinch the second round victory 69-66.
 
Blackman notched a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards. Johnson added 12 points while Turner and Burland each chipped in 10. Burland snagged four steals in the contest and Turner dished out four assists.
 
As a team, LC shot 44 percent from the field and was a nearly perfect 95 percent from the charity stripe (19-for-20).
 
"We didn't shoot well from behind the arc and their defense made us rush our shots and forced us to turn it over," Orr said. "We did a great job of attacking the basket the second half and our defense really stepped up the second half. Even though LSUA really crashed the offensive boards, we rebounded much better after the half and came up with some big rebounds when we needed them."
 
"Abbie Johnson showed up the second half, Hannah was solid all game and hit a big 3 to give us some momentum. I thought Jossilyn played really well and she fought hard every possession," Orr added. "Hailey made a couple big plays down the stretch and we are still dancing."
 
The Warriors move on to the Elite Eight and will face No. 1 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) on Saturday at 1 p.m. Zany's will be hosting a watch party and KOZE will be broadcasting from Billings, Mont.