WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

No. 14 LC State Women’s Basketball is on an 8-0 run to start the season thanks to balanced scoring and strong defense. The Warriors take their 3-0 Cascade Conference record into their second matchup with Walla Walla this season in College Place, Wash., on Thursday before taking on NCAA Division III No. 14 Whitman on Friday.

LC State (8-0, 3-0) defeated the Wolves (3-6, 0-3) 71-48 in Lewiston to start conference play and is 14-0 against WWU since 2010. Darian Herring led the contest with 18 points and a career-best seven blocks, while Ellie Sander joined the 1,000-point club with her 15 points. Lindsey Wilson added 14 in the contest with a 7-for-7 night from the field. Chariah Daniels led the Wolves with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Jaylo Bello added 13 points with four 3-pointers. 

Walla Walla’s Daniels is second in the CCC in scoring (15.3) and leads in rebounding (11.9). Natalee Trevino is second in free throw percentage (.889).

LC State is 11-0 against Whitman (7-0) dating back to 2004 and defeated the Blues in Lewiston last season 76-51. Sitara Byrd notched an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double in the contest, Payton Hymas added 14 points with five assists and Herring scored 12 with five blocked shots. 

The Warriors lead the CCC in scoring defense (51.9), scoring margin (25.8), field goal percentage (48.7), rebounding defense (33.4), blocked shots per game (5.1), total blocked shots (41), assists per game (20.1), total assists (161), steals per game (14.9), total steals (119), turnover margin (9.88) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3). They rank fourth in the NAIA in scoring defense, fifth in field goal percentage and assists per game, seventh in steals per game and eighth in blocked shots per game. 

Individually, Herring is second in the conference in field goal percentage (.563), Byrd is fourth (.518) and Sander is sixth (.506). Herring leads the Cascade in assists per game (4.5), blocks per game (3.8) and total blocks (30), and Sander leads in steals per game (3.6). Herring ranks third in the NAIA in blocks per game and Sander is 12th in steals per game. 

MEN'S BASKETBALL

The No. 21 Warrior Men’s Basketball team continues conference play this week before a neutral-site non-conference tilt on Saturday. LC State will take its 3-0 CCC record to Walla Walla University on Thursday and head to La Grande, Ore., to face Florida College this weekend. 

LC State (7-1, 3-0) is 30-0 against Walla Walla (1-5, 1-2) since 2008 and won the first meeting of the season 94-59. MaCarhy Morris led the Warriors with 20 points in the contest to go with eight rebounds, six assists and three steals, while Taden King and Jayceon Smith each scored 15 points. John Lustig notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. Almonds Sebirokwa led WWU in scoring with 10 points in the contes and Soren Dalan grabbed nine rebounds. 

WWU’s Dalan is second in the conference in rebounds per game (9.5) and Josue Mireles leads in 3-point field goal percentage (.526). 

The Warriors head to La Grande on Saturday to take on Florida College (4-9) for the first time in program history. The Falcons are coming off a 68-65 victory over Webber International (Fla.) in which Johnny Torrence led FC with 23 points on four 3-pointers. The team is averaging 71.2 points per game and 36.4 rebounds per contest. 

LC State leads the CCC in rebound margin (11.2) and is second in scoring margin (13.6) and rebounding offense (40.0). Alton Hamilton leads the Cascade in both scoring (22.4) and rebounding (11.0), and Morris is sixth in scoring (15.5). Hamilton is 13th in the NAIA in scoring and ninth in rebounding.

TRACK & FIELD

LC State Track and Field opens the 2024-25 season on Saturday at the Spokane Invitational at The Podium in Spokane. This will be the lone meet for the Warriors in 2024 before the teams break for the holidays. 

A full preview of the season will be available later this week.