COLLEGE PLACE, Wash. – The Warrior women (4-0, 1-0) overcame a 28-22 deficit at the half to earn their first Cascade Conference victory of the season on Tuesday in the CCC opener at Walla Walla University. LC State fought through an evenly played first half before storming past the Wolves with a 23-5 third quarter to take the contest 61-50.
 
"We will take the 'W,' but it wasn't very pretty," Head Coach Brian Orr said. "We came out flat and just didn't execute very well, especially in the first half. We came out in the second and played much better on both ends. Sara (Muehlhausen) was sold all game, and our third quarter run behind Maddie Holm's 3s turned things around. I have to do a better job of making sure that we are ready to play from the opening tip."
 
Sara Muehlhausen and Maddie Holm wasted no time giving LC a quick 5-0 lead with back-to-back baskets in the first minute. The Wolves tied the game by 7:05, but another basket by Muelhausen put LC back in front. Ellie Sander dropped in a layup at the four-minute mark to give the Warriors a 9-7 advantage, but Walla Walla kept things close through the opening quarter.
 
Muehlhausen put back a pair of offensive rebounds to keep the LC lead slim at four points in the final two minutes of the period, but the Wolves kept up. LC State led 13-12 after the first 10 minutes.
 
Walla Walla hit a 3 to begin the second quarter and take a 15-13 lead over the Warriors. The Wolves stretched their run to four to grow the WWU lead to 16-13 by 8:30. The deficit grew to 25-19, but seven points in the quarter from Callie Stevens kept LC within three (25-22) in the final two minutes. Walla Walla led 28-22 at the break.
 
Aside from a free throw by Muehlhausen, both teams were held off the board through the first two minutes of the second half. Hannah Broyles drained a 3 at 7:26, and Stevens put LC in front with a 3 of her own a minute later.
 
A back-and-forth battle ensued as Holm answered a WWU basket with a triple to make it 32-30 in favor of the Warriors at 5:50. Muehlhausen grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back to grow the lead with a 4-0 Warrior run. Another offensive board by LC, this time grabbed by Holm, turned into another bucket to help increase the margin.
 
Adyson Clabby fought through traffic for another run of four by the Warriors, and a 3-pointer by Holm made it 41-33 at 2:32. Muehlhausen and Sander followed to make it a six-point stretch and give LC a 45-33 cushion heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
Muehlhausen kept the run going in the fourth quarter, but both teams were held scoreless for the next three minutes. Holm capped to the scoring streak at 11 with a triple at 6:10 (52-33) before Walla Walla scored its first points of the quarter on a pair of foul shots with six minutes to play.
 
The momentum carried through the rest of the contest as the Warriors took the conference opener by a final of 61-50.
 
Holm led the Warriors with 17 points in the contest. Muehlhausen notched a double-double with 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, and Stevens dropped 13 points. Both Holm and Stevens grabbed nine boards.
 
LC will head to Rocklin, Calif., this weekend for the William Jessup Tournament. The Warriors open the tournament with host WJU on Friday at 5 p.m. before closing things out against Pacific Union College (Calif.) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
 
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