Women's Basketball | 02.25.2025
LEWISTON, Idaho – The journey through postseason play begins for LC State Women's Basketball on Wednesday when the LC State Warriors host the Bushnell (Ore.) Beacons in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 Cascade Conference Championship, presented by U.S. Bank. The contest in the P1FCU Activity Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The third-seeded LC State Warriors swept the regular season against sixth-seeded Bushnell with an 71-50 victory in Lewiston in January and 68-59 win in Eugene on Saturday.
No. 3 Seed – LC State Warriors (23-5, 17-5)
The Warriors enter the tournament with a record of 23-5 overall and 17-5 in conference play. LC State has been one of the best ball handling teams in the NAIA this season and leads the CCC in blocked shots per game (4.9), assists per game (17.6), steals per game (12.9) and turnover margin (7.21). The Warriors have also been a challenging defense for opposing teams and currently rank second in scoring defense (54.4), field goal percentage defense (.362) and scoring margin (20.3).
Ellie Sander and
Darian Herring have been key to the Warriors' success on both sides of the ball. Senior Sander leads the conference in steals with 85 and is LC State's leading scorer with 13.5 points per game. Herring leads the NAIA in blocks this season with 76 and is two away from tying LC State's single-season record. She also leads the Warriors in assists (100) and rebounding (6.5 per game).
Herring ranks second in the CCC in field goal percentage at .575 with Sander in third (.538) and
Mataya Green in fifth (.519). The Warrior women have been a balanced scoring team all season long with three players averaging more than 10 points per game.
Sitara Byrd is second on the team with 10.8 points per game and Herring is averaging 10.5. Byrd leads the Warrior women in 3-point field goal percentage and is sixth in the conference at .402. She has been key on defense as well with 5.9 boards per contest and 67 steals.
Despite missing a few games due to injury, junior
Payton Hymas is just six assists behind Herring with 94 on the year and is third in the CCC with 4.1 assists per game. She has stepped up her scoring game lately and is currently averaging 9.2 points per game.
LC State defeated Bushnell at home by a score of 71-50 in January. Sander led all scorers with 18 points and Byrd grabbed 10 rebounds with five assists and five steals. Herring blocked eight shots in the game to tie the LC State single-game record. The Warriors held Bushnell to just 27.9% shooting from the field in the P1FCU Activity Center.
Byrd notched a double-double in Eugene with a team-leading 15 points and 10 boards to go with four steals. Hymas dished out eight assists.
No. 6 Seed – Bushnell Beacons (11-17, 10-12)
The Bushnell Beacons enter the tournament as the third best rebounding team in the CCC with 38.5 boards per game, led in big part by senior Libby Mathis. Bushnell is averaging 59.1 points per game.
Mathis is second in the conference in rebounding with 9.3 per game and also leads BU in scoring with 13.6 points per game. She led the contest with Lewiston with 13 rebounds and completed a double-double with 12 points. She did the same in Eugene with 15 points and 11 boards.
Liv Tjoelker leads Bushnell with 67 assists this season and Ayden Krupke has 36 steals. Mathis has blocked 39 shots.
The Beacons have allowed 65.5 points per game this season with opponents shooting .400.
THE DETAILS
The CCC quarterfinal contest is set for Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in the P1FCU Activity Center. The winner will advance to the semifinal round at a site to be determined. Tickets are on sale now at lcwarriors.com/tickets and streaming passes are available at lcwarriors.com/watch. KOZE will carry the game.
Season passes, both tickets are streaming are not valid for postseason play.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
