Women's Basketball | 02.16.2023

LEWISTON, Idaho – The transition a college freshman has to make is never easy, especially for an athlete. Lewis-Clark State Women's Basketball player Sitara Byrd has embraced that transition and has already found herself in a key role to the Warriors success this season.
 
Byrd starred at Gonzaga Prep where she was the leading scorer in the Class 4A Greater Spokane League, averaging 17.2 points per game. As a freshman at LC, the Spokane native finds herself coming off the bench and averaging just five points a contest, but she has taken strongly to her new role.
 
"We were so lucky to be able to sign Sitara," LC coach Brian Orr said. "What she has meant to our program just instantly, we have added a tremendous athlete, but we have also added a really good person."
 
The Lewiston High School Girls' Basketball team wore shirts before every game that simply stated "We > Me" and that is something the women's basketball team and Byrd herself have also shown to be a major focal point.
 
"I think all the freshmen have really stepped up. It is great because all of the upperclassmen have encouraged us to get out of our shell which I think has been contributing to our success," Byrd said. "It is great that we have players who can step up because that just makes our bench even deeper."
 
The way Byrd has stepped up has been her ability to collect rebounds where she averages 5.4 per game, fourth on the team. The former Bullpup started the season off strong in that category, collecting 12 in her debut game on Nov. 4 versus Rocky Mountain in just 17 minutes.
 
Byrd added another double-digit rebound performance in the first double-double of her career on Jan. 21 versus Northwest where she had 11 points and 10 boards. The Spokane native had her best defensive performance on Jan. 7 at Multnomah, the team LC faces on Friday, where she had nine steals in 19 minutes.
 
"I think part of it is that she has had a great role model in Maddie Holm. Maddie goes to the offensive boards, defensive boards, every time. Sitara has modeled that too," Orr said. "She is so athletic and she just jumps so quick."
 
Byrd trails only Holm on the team in rebounds collected per minute, showing just how much of an impact the freshman has been able to make in her limited time on the court. Byrd has brought down 135 rebounds in her 424 minutes for a .318 rebound per minute pace. Holm leads the team with a pace of .345 in 559 minutes of action.
 
As the season has worn on, Byrd has gotten more consistent. The freshman has collected four rebounds or more in 11 straight games, the longest current streak on the team.
 
"I did not have any problem, I felt like, I just always knew I had a solid foundation to go on," Byrd said when asked if she thought adapting to a college style was difficult. "My teammates have just helped me make that transition from high school to college."
 
In college where a team is never the same year in and year out, it is always important to create a culture that continually transfers the leadership role every year so that the culture continues to grow and flourish.  Under Orr, the Warriors have created a culture in the last 22 seasons that has done just that.
 
"I think he has helped me and a bunch of other players throughout his career," Byrd said. "I think that's showing off how good of a coach he is and how impactful he is."
 
LC is 52-7 over the past two seasons. Much of that success has come from underclassmen who bought into the program and upperclassmen ready to be completely selfless and focus on improving the team as a whole over their own personal numbers.
 
"One of the most important things in team sports is the culture that you develop. It doesn't carry over unless you have the leaders to do it," Orr said. "No matter how influential the coach might think he or she might be, there is nobody more important than the players themselves."
 
Byrd credited her coach and teammates for continually pushing her to become a better player as well as the level of competition in the Cascade Conference. "It helps everybody who plays against them because they are tough teams, they are good opponents and it makes you grow as a player having those tough games, win or lose."
 
The Warriors conclude their regular season at home this weekend. LC hosts Multnomah at 5 p.m. on Friday and Warner Pacific at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.