Women's Basketball | 03.14.2024
LEWISTON, Idaho – Action in the NAIA National Tournament begins on Friday in Lewiston as LC State hosts the 2024 NAIA Women's Basketball Championship First and Second Rounds, presented by Ballogy. The Warrior women are the fourth seed in the Naismith Bracket and face 13th-seed Brewton-Parker (Ga.) on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
"We are very excited and very thankful for being able to host the first and second rounds of the national tournament," Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. "This will be such a remarkable experience for our team. We need to stick to what we do best, trust each other, share the basketball, and enjoy every minute we get to compete. I look forward to the competition this weekend and getting to display Warrior basketball at a national level."
LC State will also play host to fifth-seeded The Master's (Calif.) and 12th-seeded Jamestown (N.D.) on Friday at 7:30 p.m., with the winners facing off on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the Second Round.
General admission tickets, reserved seats and streaming passes are on sale now at lcwarriors.com. Season passes (including streaming passes) are not valid for postseason events. Tickets to the game can be purchased online or at the LC State Ticket Office.
No. 4 Seed – No. 11 LC State Warriors (25-5, 19-3)
Lewis-Clark State Women's Basketball earned an automatic bid to the national tournament after advancing the Cascade Conference title game against No. 18 Southern Oregon. Though the Raiders won the title, the Warriors earned their place in the national tournament. This season marks the sixth straight trip to the national tournament for LC State Women's Basketball and 26th overall.
LC State has faced Brewton-Parker once in program history, also in the national tournament. The two squared off in 2006 with the Warriors earned an 80-63 win behind 30 points and 10 rebounds from Aundrea Morrison.
"Our team is really looking forward to playing new opponents," Orlandi said. "Brewton-Parker brings a game that we haven't faced this season. They shoot a plethora of 3-pointers and crash the glass efficiently. No team in the CCC shoots that many 3s. We will need to make sure our focus is defending at a high level and securing the rebound. We can expect long rebounds with teams that shoot 3-pointers and our guards will need to make sure they are rebounding before we look to push the basketball. They are extremely athletic, play up-tempo and bring tremendous energy."
The Warriors are led by three-time Cascade Conference Player of the Year Callie Stevens, as well as First-Team All-CCC selection Ellie Sander. Senior Maddie Holm was also voted first-team all-conference, but will miss the postseason with injury.
Stevens has been LC State's leading scorer for three years and has amassed 1,580 points in her three seasons. The senior is averaging 17.4 points per game while making 46.3% of her shots from the floor. Stevens leads LC State from 3-point range this season with 84 made triples.
Sander has had a breakthrough season all-around and leads the Warriors in assists this season with 114. She is the second-leading scorer on the team with 13.0 points per game, and pads the stat sheets with 3.6 rebounds per game. Sander is shooting 50.4% from the floor, 38.9% from 3-point range and 89.1% from the free throw line. She has totaled 66 steals and 16 blocks.
After Holm's injury, Sitara Byrd stepped up to lead the Warriors defensively. The sophomore averages 6.8 boards per game with 203 total and leads LC State in steals with 70. She averages 8.7 points per game and scored a career-best 24 against No. 22 Oregon Tech in the CCC semifinal. Lindsey Wilson has also taken big strides in her career with a CCC-best .552 field goal percentage.
The freshmen duo of Darian Herring and Tatum Brager has provided much-needed depth to the LC State roster. Herring leads the team in blocked shots this year with 50 while averaging 7.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. She is also a great ball-handler and has dealt 65 assists, the most outside of Sander and Stevens. Brager has been lights-out from 3-point range with a .396 percentage on 36 made. She has provided a boost off the bench with clutch triples.
"Our focus is one game at a time, as it has been all season long," Orlandi added. "All four teams here are great basketball teams and each bring something unique to the table."
No. 13 Seed – Brewton-Parker Barons (19-12, 9-9)
The Barons of Brewton-Parker College enter the national tournament with an at-large bid out of the Southern State Athletic Conference. BPC advanced to the semifinal of the SSAC tournament and is making its sixth appearance in program history.
BPC won its first four games of the season and first five games of conference play before finishing the regular season with a 9-9 record in SSAC action. The Barons secured the No. 7 seed in the tournament and battled their way to the semifinal with an upset-win over No. 25 William Carey (Miss.) before falling to Mobile (Ala.).
Brewton-Parker's Madison Evans earned First-Team All-SSAC honors for the third straight season and leads the Barons with 16.4 points per game. Primarily a threat inside the 3-point line, Evans is shooting 42.2% from the field and has a team-high 104 assists and 15 blocks this year.
Angel McRae was voted second-team all-conference for the third year in a row after leading the Barons' defense with 10.9 rebounds per game and 52 steals. She averages 9.5 points per game with a .417 percentage from the field.
THE REST OF THE FIELD
No. 5-seed The Master's will take on 12th-seeded Jamestown on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the second first-round matchup. The Mustangs are led by GSAC Defensive Player of the Year Madeline Cooke, Freshman of the Year Nicole Chuang and fellow All-GSAC honoree Belle Hernandez.
Jamestown is led by First-Team All-GPAC selection Kate Cordes, second-team honorees Audrey Rodakowski and Kia Tower, and honorable mention selection Kate Busek. The winner of the matchup will face the winner of LC State and BPC.
THE DETAILS
Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. on Friday in the P1FCU Activity Center. The contest will be streamed on lcwarriors.com/watch and KOZE will produce a radio broadcast. Tickets and streaming packages are on sale now at lcwarriors.com.
The winners of Friday's contests advance to the NAIA Second Round in Lewiston on Saturday at 7:30 pm.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
