LEWISTON, Idaho – The No. 21 LC State Warrior women are alone atop the Cascade Conference standings after defeating Southern Oregon University 60-55 in the P1FCU Activity Center on Friday night. The Warriors had four players in double-digits in the 24
th victory of the season, and 12
th straight. LC is now 24-3 overall and 18-3 in CCC play.
Maddie Holm led LC with her 10
th double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) of the season.
"This was definitely a defensive battle by both teams," Head Coach
Brian Orr said. "It felt like we had the momentum going into the fourth, but to SOU's credit, they hit some big 3s to keep it close to the end. With a championship on the line, both Callie (Stevens) and Maddie stepped up and hit some really big free throws. Definitely a fun one to win, but no time to celebrate. We need to focus on OIT and bring even more energy tomorrow."
The Warrior women held a 10-4 lead through the first 10 minutes. SOU jumped in front 4-0 and held LC State off the board for four minutes before
Sara Muehlhausen sparked a 10-point run. A 3 by
Hannah Broyles put the Warriors in front 5-4, and back-to-back baskets by Holm furthered the advantage.
LC State rattled off five more points, all from Broyles, to stretch the scoring run to 15. SOU pulled within five, 17-12, by 5:03, but free throws by Muehlhausen and a jumper by Holm kept the Warriors in front by a slim margin. A floater by Broyles kept the momentum going in the final minute and sent LC into the break with a 25-16 lead.
The Warriors responded to a basket by the Raiders with a layup by Holm and a 3 by
Callie Stevens to open the half. A basket by
Heidi Sellmann pushed the lead to 32-21, and three points each from Stevens and
Mataya Green had the score at 38-26 with four minutes left in the frame.
Southern Oregon gained momentum in the fourth quarter to cut the LC lead to 47-43 in the final four minutes. With 90 seconds left in the contest, the Raiders were within two, 54-52.
Free throws by Stevens made it a four-point difference with 27 seconds on the clock, but a triple by SOU's Syd'Nee Fryer brought the score to 56-55 and forced an LC timeout. Another pair of free throws from Holm helped seal the victory for the Warriors.
Holm led LC with 16 points. She grabbed 11 rebounds to complete her double-double. Muehlhausen led the defense with 13 boards and five blocks. Stevens, Broyles and Sander each scored 10 points.
The Warriors had 11 steals in the contest, led by three from Broyles, and forced 17 turnovers. They held SOU to .300 shooting from the field and .222 from 3-point range.
LC State wraps up the regular season on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Warriors will celebrate senior
Heidi Sellmann prior to taking on Oregon Tech.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com or on social media @LCWarriors.
