LEWISTON, Idaho – Callie Stevens provided the spark the LC State Women's Basketball team (8-0, 3-0) needed on Saturday in a hard-fought 61-52 victory over The Evergreen State College. The guard dropped a career-best 22 points on an 8-for-12 (5-for-8 from 3) performance to lead the Warriors past the Geoducks for the team's third Cascade Conference win of the season.
 
"You have to give a ton of credit to Evergreen. Their defense really disrupted our offense most of the game," Head Coach Brian Orr explained. "We were able to hit some big shots at key moments, but every time it looked like we were going to pull away, Evergreen had a run of its own. Callie hit some big 3s and Sara (Muehlhausen) came through with some clutch baskets. It wasn't always pretty, but I was proud of our effort and ability to find a way to win."
 
The Geoducks and Warriors battled back and forth through the first five minutes of the contest until back-to-back baskets by Hannah Broyles and Heidi Sellmann gave LC State a 10-7 advantage.  3-pointer by TESC's Caitlin Yenne sent the Geoducks into the second quarter with a 12-10 lead.
 
Broyles put the Warriors in front with a 3 to begin the second frame, but TESC quickly responded as the two teams continued to trade baskets. Another triple by Broyles evened the score 18-18 before a layup by Callie Stevens, after a steal, gave LC a slim 20-18 edge at 5:55.
 
A pair of foul shots brought the Geoducks within one, 21-20, midway through the quarter, before TESC regained the lead with a basket at 3:33. Stevens drained a 3 and Sara Muehlhausen added a jumper to make it a 26-22 LC lead, but Evergreen kept pace to knot the game up 27-27 in the final 30 seconds of the half.
 
Madeline Weaver hit a clutch 3 at the buzzer to give the Warriors a 30-27 advantage heading into the break.
 
Evergreen struck first in the second half before five straight points by Stevens gave LC State a 36-31 lead at 5:58. A pair of triples from Stevens kept the Warriors in front by a slim margin as time ticked away in the third quarter. A buzzer-beater layup by TESC made it a 44-42 game, in favor of LC, heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
Stevens drained a big-time 3-pointer at the 5:37 mark in the fourth quarter to give the Warriors a 54-49 advantage, and a layup and free throw by Muehlhausen kept the margin at five in the final minutes.
 
The margin held as the Warriors earned a 61-52 victory.
 
Stevens led the way with her career-high 22 points. Muehlhausen tallied 15 and Broyles added 10. Muehlhausen notched a double-double on 11 rebounds, and Maddie Holm grabbed 11 boards as well to go with her team-best five assists. Mataya Green added another three blocks to her weekend.
 
Jalyn Sackrider led TESC with 16 points in the contest and Yenne grabbed 10 rebounds.
 
The Warriors hit the to take on NCAA Division III George Fox on Dec. 11. Links to game coverage can be found at lcwarriors.com.
 
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