Women's Basketball | 03.06.2020
LEWISTON, Idaho – The No. 21 Warriors advanced to the Frontier Conference Semifinal after defeating Montana Tech 63-52 in the quarterfinal. LC State will take on the defending national champions, No. 17 Montana Western, in the semifinal game on Saturday in Dillon, Mont.
FRONTIER CONFERENCE STANDINGS
|
Team |
Frontier Conference |
Overall |
| 1. |
No. 18 Carroll College |
13-5 |
21-9 |
| 2. |
No. 16 Montana Western |
12-6 |
20-10 |
| 3. |
No. 21 Lewis-Clark State |
11-7 |
20-9 |
| 4. |
No. 24 Rocky Mountain (Eliminated) |
10-8 |
19-11 |
| 5. |
Providence |
9-9 |
19-12 |
| 6. |
Montana Tech (Eliminated) |
4-14 |
14-17 |
| 7. |
Montana-State Northern (Eliminated) |
4-14 |
15-16 |
THE WARRIORS (20-9, 11-7) – No. 3 Seed
Big nights from Kiara Burlage and Hannah Burland pushed the Warriors past Montana Tech in Wednesday's quarterfinal. Burlage notched her 10th double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Burland was clutch with 14 points and six boards.
The Warriors never trailed in the contest, leading from the first basket of the game.
LC State took two of three meetings against the defending national champions this season, with the most recent being an double-overtime victory to end the regular season. Burlage scored 25 points and grabbed 10 boards in the 82-79 win, while Jamie Nielson and Burland each dropped 13 points.
In the 61-40 victory over the Bulldogs on Jan. 23, the Warriors held UMW to a 21.7 shooting percentage and 10.5 percent from 3. Burlage led the Warriors in the game with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Nielson chipped in 12 points.
Burlage has been a constant driving force for the Warriors all season. The junior from Columbia Falls, Mont. leads the team in scoring (15.9 points per game), field goal percentage (.540) and rebounding (7.5 rebounds per game). She is shooting 80.8 percent from the free throw line. Her field goal percentage is the 10th-best in the NAIA DI.
Peyton Souvenir leads LC State in assists per game (3.93) and steals per game (2.10). Abbie Johnson leads the team with 27 blocks.
As a team, the Warriors are fourth in NAIA DI in free throw percentage (.771).
THE BULLDOGS (20-10, 12-6) – No. 2 Seed
The defending national champions clinched the second seed in the Frontier Conference Tournament, and advanced to the semifinal with a 62-48 victory over MSU-Northern on Wednesday. Brynley Fitzgerald led the Bulldogs with 24 points, including five 3-pointers. Mesa King grabbed 12 rebounds and Savanna Bignell and Gracey Meyer each scored 12 points.
The Bulldogs defeated LC State 54-50 in their first meeting of the season on Jan. 9. Bignell was the only UMW player to score double-digits, dropping 10. Paige Holmes grabbed 10 rebounds.
Bignell leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 9.96 per game, and Holmes is the team's leading rebounder at 4.78 per game.
As a team, UMW is ranked fourth in NAIA DI in total rebound defense (30.70) and 10th in scoring defense per game (57.67).
DETAILS
The Warriors will travel to Dillon, Mont. for the semifinal matchup on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT.
The winner of Saturday's contest will move on to the Frontier Conference Championship on Tuesday.
