LEWISTON, Idaho – The two halves of Sunday's matchup between the Lewis-Clark State Women's Basketball team and the visiting No. 6 Carroll College Fighting Saints could not have been any different. After a defensive first half, LC State trailed Carroll 26-16 in a low-scoring affair. The Warriors came alive offensively in the second half to earn a 60-50 upset victory and hand Carroll its first loss of the season. Peyton Souvenir led the game in scoring with 17 points and Abbie Johnson notched her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
"Honestly, the first half we were just getting into the flow of things," Souvenir said. "The second-day games are so much harder, especially when you play a team three times. Our talk at halftime was so beneficial. There wasn't a doubt in any of our minds that we were going to come out and we were going to win. I think that was really big for me to know that the team had confidence so that I could have confidence in myself."
Carroll opened the game with six straight points through the first four minutes. Kiara Burlage put the Warriors on the board at 4:55 with an assist from Souvenir, and free throws from Callie Stevens brought LC within two. The Warriors scored just six points in the first quarter and trailed 14-6.
The second quarter was much of the same as Carroll kicked its lead out to 10 point (26-16) by the end of the half.
"At halftime we do this thing on the whiteboard where we write what we need to improve on and what we were doing well," Souvenir said. "We always talk about what we need to improve on in a positive way, and one of the things that was said was that we are such a better team when we are having fun and that first half was just kind of dead."
The Warriors found their groove in the third quarter and answered a Saints basket with a run of eight points. Burlage opened the run with a three-point play and 3-pointer, and Abby Farmer capped the rally at 5:50 to cut the deficit to 28-24.
LC kept within striking distance and Hannah Broyles drilled a 3 with a minute left in the quarter to put the Warriors in front 37-36.
The lead changed hands multiple times in the final frame until the Warriors went on a 15-2 tear in the final five minutes. They held Carroll scoreless for five and a half minutes. Burlage tied the game 48-48 at 5:32 before Souvenir dropped eight points during the run. A pair of free throws from the guard capped the scoring and the Warriors earned the win by a final of 60-50.
"The first half was hard to watch," Head Coach Brian Orr said. "We couldn't buy a basket. That changed in the second half when we extended our defense. We got a couple of easy baskets and we started making our shots. Hannah's 3-pointer was our first lead and gave us a huge lift. Every time Carroll made a basket we had different players answer by making big shots. It was a great team win to go into Christmas break."
Souvenir led all scorers with 17 points, 15 of which she scored in the second half, and tallied seven assists and four steals. Johnson posted a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 11 boards. Burlage rounded out the double-digit scoring with 13 points.
"I think that the biggest thing for us is that our defense creates our offense," Souvenir explained. "That was a lot of the reason that I was getting my looks, because of our defense."
The LC State defense held Carroll to 22.7 percent from 3-point range (5-for-22).
"Our whole team did a good job of coming out in the second half and focusing on enjoying it and enjoying every moment," Souvenir added. "With everything going on, there are so many unknowns so any time we do take the court and get the privilege to play, I think it is so important to enjoy every second."
