Women's Basketball | 03.18.2021
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The stage is set and the Warrior women are ready to open the Round of 16 at the 2021 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship. LC State earned the No. 14 seed in the final site bracket and will face No. 3 Campbellsville (Ky.). The Warriors, one of only two No. 2 seeds from the Opening Rounds to advance, bring with them a great deal of momentum after Saturday's huge upset victory over No. 6 Carroll in the Opening Round Championship.
No. 22 LEWIS-CLARK STATE WARRIORS: 14-5, 0-0
Despite its rough beginning, the 2020-21 season has been a successful one for LC State. The Warriors were perfect (5-0) against Cascade Conference teams, though all contests were non-conference, including a quick 2-0 sweep of College of Idaho to capture the program's first Cascade Conference title. LC also defeated a pair of NCAA DII teams in Seattle Pacific and Montana State-Billings.
The Warriors did not slow down in the first Opening Round game against William Jessup with a dominant 73-44 victory.
Abbie Johnson led LC with 16 point,
Kiara Burlage had a double-double with 14 points and 12 board, and
Peyton Souvenir added 12 points. The Warrior women carried the energy into the championship game against Carroll and did not take their foot off the gas. Burlage set the tone with a game-high 27 points, including a 9-for-18 performance from the field.
Jansen Edmiston and Johnson each scored 15 points and
Abby Farmer had 13. The defense held the Fighting Saints to just 13.8 percent from 3-point range.
Burlage currently leads the Warriors in both scoring (17.2 points per game) and rebounding (7.2 per game). She also leads the team in 3-point field goal percentage (.400) and free throw percentage (.763). The senior from Columbia Falls, Mont. was voted the Cascade Conference Player of the Year.
Johnson, the CCC Defender of the Year, currently leads LC State in field goal percentage (.529) and is averaging 12.9 points per game. She is a force on defense with 5.8 boards per game, 30 steals and 15 blocks.
Edmiston, Souvenir and Farmer complete the LC State starting five, as well as the All-Cascade Conference team. Edmiston has been a Jill-of-all-trades for the Warrior women and leaves her mark all over the court. The senior is averaging 10.5 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game and has 43 assists, 26 steals and 11 blocks so far this season.
Souvenir leads the team in assists (90) and steals (45), and ranks 22
nd in the NAIA in assists per game (4.7). Her assist total is 34
th in the NAIA. Farmer has been solid in her first season as a start. The junior, who will gradate this year, is second on the team in assists (4.8) and has 26 steals. She leads LC State in 3-pointers made this season with 32.
As a team, the Warriors ranked 29
th in the NAIA in free throw percentage (.742) and 38
th in assist/turnover ratio (3.47). This will be the first meeting between LC and Campbellsville.
No. 3 CAMPBELLSVILLE LADY TIGERS: 19-2, 12-1
The only two losses this season for the Lady Tigers have been at the hands of top-ranked Thomas Moore, both during the regular season and in the Mid-South Conference Championship. Both losses were by at least 10 points.
Campbellsville traveled to Lakeland, Fla. for its Opening Round and was the top seed in its pod. The Lady Tigers defeated Bryan College 90-57 to advance to the Round of 16. Four Campbellsville players scored in double-digits.
Four CU players earned All-MSC status, with two on the first team and two on the second team. Savannah Gregory earned her fourth straight honor and third straight first-team selection. The two-way player finished the regular season averaging 13.4 points per game and led the team with 5.1 rebounds per game. She averaged 3.4 steals per game. Gregory currently ranks 12
th in the NAIA in steals per game (3.1) and 19
th in total steals (65).
Sammy Rogers was also named First-Team All-MSC after leading Campbellsville in scoring with 17.0 points per game. The forward shot 51.0 percent from the field, 43.5 percent from 3-point range and 78.4 percent from the free throw line.
Lexy Lake and Courtney Pritchett were both voted Second-Team All-MSC. Lake averaged 9.8 points per game in the regular season and held a 38.5 percentage from 3. Pritchett averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. She ranks 23
rd in the NAIA in assist/turnover ratio (2.5).
The Lady Tigers are averaging an impressive 82.8 points per game with a 25.4 scoring margin. As a team, they are shooting 46.5 percent from the field and are grabbing 37.8 boards per game. Campbellsville ranks second in the NAIA in assists per game (19.7) and in steals per game (14.9). The team is third in scoring margin (25.4) and fourth in turnover margin (8.5). The Warriors are also in the top 10 in field goal percentage (.465), assist/turnover ratio (1.28), scoring offense per game (82.8) and 3-point field goal percentage (.376).
DETAILS
The first game for LC State in Sioux City, Iowa will be played on Friday, March 19 at 11 a.m. PT. The winner will advance to play in the NAIA National Quarterfinal on Saturday, March 20 at 4 p.m. PT against the winner of No.6 Southeastern (Fla.)/No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan.
All games aside from the championship game will be streamed on the
NAIA Network for a charge. The national title game will be streamed on ESPN3. Live stats will be available via DakStats, and all links can be found on the women's basketball schedule page on lcwarriors.com. The game will be carried on KOZE.
Stay up to date on all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
