LEWISTON, Idaho – No. 22 Lewis-Clark State Women's Basketball made it five wins in a row to start the season with a come-from-behind victory over NCAA Division III Puget Sound on Saturday. Despite trailing at the half, the Warriors roared back in the second half to come away with a 64-37 victory over the Loggers.
The Warriors used a balanced attack, a theme for the year, that featured 15 assists, 16 steals and 27 forced turnovers.
Darian Herring was named the Most Valuable Player of the non-conference four-team tournament, and
Ellie Sander also earned All-Tournament Team honors.
"Playing back-to-back games is so tough and especially difficult coming off of a match up against the No. 9 team in the nation," Head Coach
Caelyn Orlandi said. "Mental toughness, energy and discipline gets you wins on the second night. A big congratulations to our tournament MVP,
Darian Herring, for dominating in both the games and filling up the stat sheet. What she can do on the court is truly special.
Ellie Sander was an All-Tournament award recipient and will make impacts both offensively and defensively when she is on the court. Both players were tremendous this week."
LC State is now 5-0 on the season and will open conference play on Nov. 26 against Walla Walla (Wash.) at home.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Warriors jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead by 5:18 in the first quarter. Herring scored six points in the run while
Sitara Byrd added two and Sander drained a 3. Puget Sound turned things around after a timeout with nine straight points to take a 13-11 lead with a minute to play in the opening frame.
Mataya Green made a free throw to cut the deficit to 13-12 after 10 minutes.
The second quarter was as even as the first. LC State took an 18-15 lead at 5:46 on back-to-back baskets by
Payton Hymas and Herring before a 3 by
Tatum Brager kept the margin at three points at 4:17. The teams traded baskets with UPS tallying five straight points to end the half in front 27-26.
The Warriors regained their footing and took control in the second half with a 15-6 third quarter. Sander scored eight points in the frame after Herring put LC State back in front with a layup on the first possession. Sander hit a layup and Byrd added a 3-pointer as LC State went on a13-point run. A basket by Herring and three straight buckets by Sander had the cushion at 41-29 at 2:54. The Loggers scored four points in the remainder of the frame to send the contest into the fourth quarter with the Warriors ahead 41-33.
The Warriors added on in the last 10 minutes as Green scored twice and
Ella Nelson netted a 3 for a seven-point run to start the fourth quarter. An and-one play by Green sparked a stretch of 13 straight LC State points that was capped by a 3-pointer by
Kendall Wallace for a 61-35 advantage at 1:29.
Lindsey Wilson and
Grace Beardin tallied points in the final minute to close out the contest.
STAT RECAP
LC State stacked the stats once again with a combined 15 assists, 16 steals and 39 rebounds. Every Warrior in the contest scored.
Herring led the contest with 14 points to go with five boards, four assists, three blocks and two steals. Sander added 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Green led the Warriors with eight rebounds and Hymas dished out a game-high five assists with five steals.
The Warriors forced 27 turnovers and converted them into 30 points, and 23 of LC State's points came off the bench. LC held UPS to .300 shooting from the field and 3-for-22 (.136) from 3-point range.
"Our best offense is our defense and when we are able to get steals and go, that is some of the best basketball to play," Orlandi added. "We were able to force 27 turnovers and turned that into 30 points. I continue to be impressed with the depth we possess and love the relentless attack we can throw at teams the whole game. A fun weekend of basketball and we can look forward to our conference opener against a much-improved Walla Walla team."
UP NEXT
The Warriors open Cascade Conference play on Nov. 26 when LC State hosts Walla Walla (Wash.) in the P1FCU Activity Center.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
