WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

The No. 24 LC State Women’s Basketball team is in Arizona this week for a pair of non-conference matchups after a victory over Haskell Indian Nations (Kan.) opened the season. Sitara Byrd scored 21 points with nine rebounds in the 97-58 victory, and five Warriors scored in double-digits in the contest. This week LC State will face Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) and Park-Gilbert (Ariz.) both for the first time.

ERAU opens its season on Monday against NCCAA Nobel University before facing LC State on Wednesday in Prescott, Ariz., at 4 p.m. PT. The Eagles went 19-13 last season and won the Cal Pac tournament before advancing to the NAIA First Round where they lost to Carroll (Mont.) 89-49.

Park-Gilbert enters the week with a 3-1 record including an 89-78 upset victory over No. 21 Rocky Mountain (Mont.). The Buccaneers dropped their most recent contest against MSU-Northern 94-71 on Friday. Park-Gilbert went 16-13 last season and fell to Antelope Valley (Calif.) in the Cal Pac semifinal.

Both ERAU and Park-Gilbert moved to the Great Southwest Athletic Conference (GSAC) ahead of the 2024-25 school year.

CROSS COUNTRY

The first postseason action of the school year is set for Friday, Nov. 8, when Warrior Cross Country races at the 2024 Cascade Conference Championships. The LC State men are ranked No. 11 in the NAIA, and the women are No .18. Both will race in stacked fields with three ranked teams on the men’s side, including No. 1 College of Idaho, and three on the women’s side led by No. 6 C of I.

A full preview of the meet will be available on Thursday. A link to live results will be available later this week.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

The No. 25 LC State Men’s Basketball team opened the 2024-25 season with a 91-68 victory over Haskell Indian Nations (Kan.), highlighted by a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double by Alton Hamilton and 18 points on six 3-pointers by Kasen Carpenter. The Warriors are in Caldwell, Idaho, this week for College of Idaho’s Taco Bell Shootout for a pair of non-conference matchups. LC State will face Dickinson State (N.D.) and Providence (Mont.) on a neutral court.

The Warriors last faced Dickinson State on New Year’s Eve of 2020 and New Year's Day of 2021. LC State took both contests and are 4-0 against the Blue Hawks since 2013. Dickinson State is 1-1 on the season with a loss to Peru State and overtime win over Oakland City.

LC State is no stranger to the Argos after years of faceoffs in the Frontier Conference. The Warriors are 34-12 against UP since 2003, but Providence won the last two meetings, both on neutral courts. MaCarhy Morris scored nine points with four assists against UP last season in Butte where the Argos edged LC State 81-76. Providence enters the week 0-2 on the season after losses to No. 16 Oregon Tech and Bushnell (Ore.). The Argos will face two more Cascade Conference teams in Caldwell in No. 2 College of Idaho and LC State.

VOLLEYBALL

Postseason positioning is on the line this weekend for every team in the Cascade Conference as the regular season ends for volleyball. After an upset win over No. 23 College of Idaho to complete the season sweep on Saturday, the Warriors enter the final weekend as the No. 6 team in the CCC. One match separates LC State and seventh-place Oregon Tech, and the fifth and sixth seeds hold a great deal of importance as both will host a play-in match for the CCC postseason tournament. Seeds No. 7 and No. 8 will be on the road for the play-in. LC State (14-11, 11-9) will face Bushnell (Ore.) (18-10, 13-7) and No. 8 Corban (Ore.) (21-4, 17-3) at home.

The Warriors will celebrate their seven seniors ahead of Saturday’s contest against Corban. The match is set for 4 p.m. with the Senior Day celebration beginning approximately 30 minutes prior. LC State will honor seniors Abbey Neff, Hallie Seaman, Missy Mortensen, Anna Merrill, Natany Felix Guimaraes, Katie Rainville and Taylin Rowley. P1FCU is the sponsor for both matches this weekend, and Saturday’s contest will also be a Red Rush match where fans are encouraged to where red.

Bushnell is 8-5 against LC State since 2010 and swept the Warriors in Eugene earlier this season. Juliauna Forgach Aguilar tied for the match-high with 13 kills and Natany Felix Guimaraes led the contest with 19 digs. The Beacons lead the conference in service aces per set (1.95), thanks to CCC leader Amyah Semau (0.47 per set). Hailey Heider ranks fourth with 0.40 per set.

The LC State Warriors pushed the eighth-ranked Corban Warriors to five sets earlier the season in Salem, but the hosting Warriors outlasted LC State for a 3-2 win. Forgach Aguilar led that match in kills with 22 and Taylor Boyce added 21. Neff and Makenzie Stout each dealt three aces and Felix Guimaraes collected a match-high 29 digs. Corban ranks second in the CCC in opponent hitting percentage (.120) and Emma Bischoff ranks second in aces per set (0.47).

LC State is second in the CCC in digs per set (16.71), led by Felix Guimaraes who ranks third individually with 4.98. Forgach Aguilar leads the conference in total kills (428) and is second in the CCC and seventh in the NAIA in kills per set (4.55).