CALDWELL, Idaho – The Warrior women (10-1, 4-1) used a dominant first and third quarter, along with a strong defensive performance, to defeat the College of Idaho Yotes on Saturday night in Caldwell. LC State bounced back from its first loss of the season behind another strong performance from Callie Stevens to take down the in-state rival by a final of 66-53.
 
"I was really worried about this game," Head Coach Brian Orr said. "Coming off a hard-fought loss last night, and we didn't get into Caldwell until 1:30 a.m. It is such a tough turnaround. I was really proud of how well we responded to the distractions that come on the road."
 
C of I scored off the tip, but a 3 by Maddie Holm put the Warriors on top early. Callie Stevens carried her momentum over from the night before with a triple, and Sara Muehlhausen tallied two points with a put back to make it an 8-5 LC lead at 7:35.
 
After a scoring drought of over two minutes, Stevens added her second 3 of the game to stretch the Warriors' scoring streak to nine points. LC State led 12-5 midway through the opening quarter. Stevens, Mataya Green and Holm struck for three straight baskets to close out the frame and give the Warriors an 18-9 lead after the first 10 minutes.
 
The Yotes began the second quarter on a 10-2 rally to cut the LC lead to 20-19 two minutes in. C of I took the lead with six minutes to play in the half and stretched the margin to 23-20 30 seconds later. Back-to-back baskets by Holm and Stevens put the Warriors back in front by the 5:07 mark.
 
Stevens and Adyson Clabby went back-to-back from 3-point land to run the LC scoring stretch to 10 points to grow the advantage to 30-23 at 3:45. Costly Warrior fouls sent the Yotes to the charity stripe for four points to bring C of I within one, but a big block by Holm kept LC State in front 30-29 at the break.
 
C of I took the lead out of the locker room with a 3, but Muehlhausen evened things up 32-32 immediately after. Stevens and Broyles made it a six-point stretch before two foul shots by Holm capped the run at eight with the Warriors up 38-32 three minutes in.
 
Muehlhausen, Broyles and Holm combined for six LC State points down the stretch in the third quarter to push the lead to 10 at 44-34. Stevens hit a 3 to send the Warriors into the final frame with a 51-39 advantage.
 
Rachel Schroeder gave the Warriors their largest lead of the game at 7:11 in the fourth quarter on a free throw to push the lead to 15 points. Holm cut a five-point rally by C of I with a layup to keep LC in front by double-digits. Clabby added five free throws and Audrey Miller hit a pair before Muehlhausen closed out the game with a layup.
 
Stevens led all scorers with 21 points on an 8-for-12 performance from the floor, 4-for-6 from 3. Holm notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards, and Muehlhausen added 10 points and four blocks. Clabby dished out four assists and Holm dealt three. Stevens and Ellie Sander each had two steals.
 
LC State shot 40.7 percent from the floor and held C of I to just 26.7 percent.
 
"I thought our defense was pretty solid for most of the game," Orr said. "Offensively, we are getting a lot better at executing our sets and we had several players step up and make big baskets when we needed them. So thankful to be going into the break with a win. It makes everything better."
 
The Warriors will take next week off before hosting Warner Pacific in the P1FCU Activity Center on New Year's Eve. LC hosts Multnomah on New Year's Day. Links to tickets and live coverage can be found at lcwarriors.com.
 
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