WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

The No. 10 Warrior women battled to their 13th and 14th wins of the season over the weekend and showcased one of the top defenses in the NAIA. LC State Women’s Basketball (14-1, 9-0) has a tough stretch ahead at home with Oregon Tech (11-4, 7-2) and No. 23 Southern Oregon (12-3, 8-1) in town for Cascade Conference matchups.

LC State is 4-1 against Oregon Tech dating back to 2004, but has not lost to OIT on the court. The only loss, and one of only three in last year’s regular season, was a forfeit due to Covid protocols. The Warriors defeated the Owls 72-65 in Lewiston behind 22 points from Callie Stevens and 13 by Ellie Sander. 

OIT leads the CCC in free throw percentage (.759), which ranks 10th in the NAIA. Olivia Sprague leads the conference in scoring (19.7) assists (65), steals (43) and 3-point field goal percentage (.541). Her 3-point percentage ranks fifth in the NAIA.

The Warriors will take on Southern Oregon in a highly anticipated rematch of last year’s Cascade Conference tournament title game on Saturday. LC is 4-4 against SOU dating back to 2012, with one of those losses coming via forfeit due to Covid protocols. The Raiders stormed into Lewiston to take the title game 56-34, but LC took the lone regular-season matchup 60-55 on a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double by Maddie Holm. Stevens, Hannah Broyles and Sander each scored 10 points in the contest and Sara Muehlhausen had 13 rebounds and five blocks. 

SOU leads the CCC in scoring defense (51.3), which ranks third in the NAIA, and is tied with LC State for the lead in steals (164) and steals per game (10.9). Kalei Iwami leads the CCC in free throw percentage (.889).

The Warriors lead the conference in field goal percentage defense (.317), rebounding (45.3), blocked shots (70), blocked shots per game (4.7), turnover margin (6.0) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2). LC is second in the NAIA in field goal percentage defense and seventh in blocks per game. Sara Muehlhausen leads the CCC in blocks (28) and Adyson Clabby leads in assist/turnover ratio (4.6). Muehlhausen is sixth in the NAIA in blocks per game (2.5) and fifth in total blocks.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

LC State Men’s Basketball is back in action after dropping a pair on the road last weekend. The Warriors (6-9, 3-6) continue their trek through the CCC schedule with matchups against Oregon Tech (7-8, 4-5) and Southern Oregon (9-6, 5-4) this weekend in the P1FCU Activity Center. 

The Warriors have not lost to Oregon Tech on the court, with the only blemish since 2003 being the forfeit due to Covid protocols. In last season’s 69-67 victory on Senior Night, Silas Bennion tallied 14 points to go with 12 from Oreon Courtney. LC shot .453 from the floor on the night.

The OIT men lead the CCC in field goal percentage (.492). Joey Potts is the conference leader in blocked shots per game (2.7), which ranks eighth in the NAIA.

LC State fell to SOU in the CCC tournament last season on a heartbreaking buzzer-beating shot to send the Raiders to the conference title game. The Warriors took the only regular-season meeting between the two by a final of 72-66 on a career-high 28 points by Courtney. He notched a double-double with 10 rebounds in the game and went 12-for-15 from the floor. 

SOU leads the conference in assists per game (17.6) and 3-pointers made per game (10.1). 

TRACK & FIELD

The Warriors return to The Podium for the first meet of 2023 at the Spokane Indoor Challenge. The two-day event scheduled for Jan. 13-14 is the second of five events at the world-class venue this season. LC State saw four school records fall at the season-opening meet and Madigan Kelly punched her ticket to indoor nationals. 

Kelly currently ranks 14th in the NAIA in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.94. Though just shy of her career-best and school record, the sophomore did set the program-best mark in the 60m dash with a time of 7.96. She bested teammate Anika Grogan, who answered by breaking her own record in the 200m (25.46). 

London Kirk continued his march through the LC record book by taking the top spot in the 400m (49.24). Cross country runner Trenton Johnson made the “jump” from distance running to field events by setting a Warrior record in the triple jump with a leap of 13.54m.