Women's Basketball | 11.06.2020

LEWISTON, Idaho – With just one senior on last season's squad, the 2020-21 Lewis-Clark State Women's Basketball team returns a strong core to compete in the first season in the Cascade Conference. The Warriors were picked as the preseason favorite to take the Cascade Conference title under Brian Orr in his 20^th season.
 
The 2019-20 season ended in Lewiston, with the Warriors falling to Providence in the Frontier Conference Championship game. LC State received an at-large bid into the national tournament, but the NAIA canceled the event due to the pandemic.
 
"When the season ended last year, I thought we were playing the best basketball we had played all year," Orr recalled. "We had some real positive things happen last season. We have the bulk of our team back, we are senior-laden, and our practices have been as good and as sharp as any team I've coached here."
 
The Warriors return four of last season's five starters, including Third-Team All-American Kiara Burlage and All-Frontier Conference selection Jansen Edmiston. Peyton Souvenir and Abbie Johnson round out a strong senior class for LC State after all four started every game last season. The 2020-21 roster also features three new faces and the return of Heidi Sellmann after missing most of last season due to injury.
 
Burlage led LC State in nearly every category, including scoring (15.6 points per game), rebounding (7.6 rebounds per game) and field goal percentage (.537). Edmiston filled up the stat sheet and proved to be extremely versatile with 10.1 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game, 68 assists, 47 steals and 15 blocks. Both shot well from 3-point range, with Burlage shooting 42.1 percent from 3 and Edmiston at 30.6 percent.
 
"Kiara is stronger, she is faster, and she is playing with more confidence," Orr explained. "There are times when I look at our team and wonder how people are going to stop us. We have a lot of people who can score the ball in different ways."
 
Edmiston is in her fifth year in the program, having sat out a year with an injury. She is the last remaining Warrior from the National Runner-Up team in 2017.
 
"There is no doubt, she is playing with a ton of confidence," Orr said. "When she gets the ball, she is making good things happen. She is such a tough matchup, and I see Jansen having one of the best years she's ever had."
 
Souvenir led the Warrior women in assists (122) and steals (66) last season while averaging 7.2 points per game. She led the Frontier Conference in steals and steals per game (2.13).
 
"Peyton is flat out playing better than she ever has," Orr said. "One of the things she has struggled with is decision making, and right now she seems to have overcome that. She has more command of our offense and is making better decisions. She has been a leader and mentor for the younger players."
 
Johnson was one of the Warriors' strongest defensive forces and led the team in blocks (28).  She was second in rebounding (6.7 per game) and averaged 9.2 points per game with a 44.1 field goal percentage.
 
"Abbie Johnson has led us in minutes played the last two season and this year she has come back like a whole different person," Orr said. "She is talking on the basketball court like I have never seen before and is attacking the basket better than ever. I am really excited for her. She is a girl that steps up her game and plays to her potential, we will have a team that can compete for a national championship."
 
Junior Abby Farmer saw significant playing time last season and is the returning leader in minutes off the bench. She was second on the team in assists with 81 and averaged 3.7 points per game.
 
"We track all of our stats in practice to see who is winning, and Abby Farmer is at the top of that list," Orr stated. "She is one of the best athletes on our team, and her effort and intensity in practice have really set the tone. She will definitely be playing a big role for us. In fact, if I had to put a starting five out there right now she would be in it."
 
Alexis Sykora, Sara Mehlhausen, Rachel Schroeder and Madeline Weaver all saw action in their first year at LC State and return for the 2020-21 season.
 
"Alexis gives us depth at the forward position," Orr explained. "She is a very hard worker who can rebound and make baskets.
 
"The reason our practices have been more competitive this year than last year is that all three of our sophomores came back," Orr continued. "Rachel is maybe the team's best shooter in practice. Maddie Weaver showed up in great shape after spending the summer in basic training with the Idaho National Guard and is starting to play like the girl we recruited. Sara may be our most improved player from last season. She has gotten so much stronger and every part of her game is getting better. Someday she is going to be a real force on both ends."
 
Though Jamie Nielson graduated with the class of 2020, she left her mark on the team that is still felt today.
 
"Jamie added so much to our team in many ways, and she is still with us," Orr said. "One of the things Jamie did as well as any player I have ever coached was cut without the ball. She was a backdoor cutting specialist. Guess what we have now. We have a team full of backdoor cutting specialists."
 
Two freshmen and a transfer make up the most recent signing class for the Warrior women. Hannah Broyles brings a year of collegiate experience as a transfer from Treasure Valley CC where she averaged 14.6 points per game. She has missed practice time due to injury but is working to return.
 
Freshman Callie Stevens was a standout at Bellarmine Prep and holds the Washington state record for 3-pointers in a State tournament (12). She also holds the school record in 3-pointers made in a game (9) and in a quarter (6). Stevens averaged 17.1 points per game as a senior. Fellow freshman Maddie Holm was an all-league and All-State performer at Saint Helens High School. She averaged an impressive 24 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and four steals per game as a senior.
 
"Our freshmen have fit in really well, both Callie and Maddie are going to make big contributions to this team," Orr said.
 
Sellmann appeared in three games last season and made a strong first impression before missing the remainder of the season due to injury. The Warriors will look to her as a strong presence from behind the 3-point line.
 
"I am so excited to be able to get her back this year," Orr said. "Besides being a good rebounder, she is one of our best 3-point shooters, which is one of the things that most people don't know. She is another tough matchup because she can also score with her back to the basket."
 
The 2020-21 season will mark the first season of Cascade Conference play for LC State. Perhaps the toughest opponents the Warriors will face in conference play will be EOU, and defending CCC champion Bushnell (formerly Northwest Christian).
 
"This league (Cascade) has gotten tough and there's no doubt about it," Orr said. "Take Bushnell, they won the league last year. They are going to be tough every year. I think almost every roster has improved. Warner Pacific had a good recruiting year. Evergreen should be better. Both SOU and OIT return most of their rosters and are traditional powers. We have had success against the Cascade Conference, but not against everybody. Eastern Oregon has had our number, so we have to make sure when we play EOU we are at our best. Conference games are always more competitive, you really can't afford to look past any team."
 
Last season LC State faced Southern Oregon and Eastern Oregon in Lewiston during the Twin Rivers PT Classic, and both games ended in a Warrior victory. The Warriors cruised past SOU 80-58, then battled then-No. 8 EOU for a 65-57 win. In 2018-19, the Warrior women went 3-1 against Cascade teams and defeated Northwest, Corban and Oregon Tech.
 
Fans are not permitted at home games to begin the season, but multiple viewing and listening options are available for LC State fans. Every Warrior home game will be streamed on the Warriors Sports Network at lcwarriors.com/watch, as well as carried on KOZE AM or KOZE.com. Zany's and Tomato Bros. will also stream every Warrior home game.