LEWISTON, Idaho – Third-seeded No. 25 Lewis-Clark State Women's Basketball used a dominant second half to overcome sixth-seeded Bushnell University (Ore.) on Wednesday in the quarterfinal round of the Cascade Conference Championship, presented by U.S. Bank. The Warriors outscored the Beacons 49-24 in the final 20 minutes with a balanced scoring attack.
LC State shot 52.8% from the floor in the second half and 60% from 3-point range and held Bushnell to just three field goals in the fourth frame.
Sitara Byrd led the Warriors with 15 points and
Mataya Green tied her career high with 11 rebounds.
Tatum Brager and
Kendall Wallace were difference makers off the bench with clutch 3-point shooting.
"What a fun second half for our team. Our defensive intensity and our offense kicked into gear the second half," coach
Caelyn Orlandi said. "I thought
Tatum Brager was a huge offensive weapon the first half keeping us in the game and she shot the ball with such great confidence.
Kendall Wallace came in and knocked down two big 3s with no hesitation and did a great job handling the ball."
The Warrior women head to Klamath Falls, Ore., to take on second-seeded No. 23 Oregon Tech in the CCC semifinal on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
LC State got off to a slow start in the first quarter and was limited to just nine points. Turnovers plagued both teams, but the Beacons managed to take a 13-9 lead after 10 minutes.
The Warriors turned things around in the second frame after a 3-pointer by Brager got the offense going. The sophomore scored the first eight points for the Warriors in the quarter, and baskets by
Darian Herring and Green had LC State in front 21-19 by 3:42. Brager added another 3 and Green closed out the half with a layup to give LC State a one-point edge, 26-25, at the break.
Green picked up where she left off with a basket to start the third quarter. Back-to-back baskets by Herring and
Ellie Sander pushed the margin to five points as the Warriors continued to control the pace of the game.
Wallace made an immediate impact with a pair of triples off the bench to grow the margin to 50-38 by the end of the third frame.
Byrd and Brager went back-to-back from 3-point range in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter before Sander and
Payton Hymas combined for a run of six points to make it 62-47 with four minutes to play.
A layup by
Lindsey Wilson sparked a run of 13 points to end the contest. Hymas added four points in the stretch and Sander scored five. The senior's potential final basket in the P1FCU Activity Center fell as a 3-pointer.
STAT RECAP
Byrd led LC State with 15 points as she went 5-for-7 from the field and 3-for-3 from 3-point range to go with five steals. Hymas tallied 12 points with five assists and Brager notched 14 off the bench going 4-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line.
Sander and Herring each scored nine points with seven rebounds. Herring dealt four assists and Sander snagged five steals.
Green tied her career high with 11 rebounds to go with her eight points. Six of her rebounds were offensive.
"I thought our whole team did a great job and every player was impactful," Orlandi added. "Mataya came up with big offensive rebounds, Payton had strong drives to the basket, Ellie was fantastic on defense, and Sitara did great doing what Sitara does. Lindsey battles their post player with such heart and did an excellent job and Darian battled all night against very physical defenders. A great team win. I am proud of this team, and now we look forward to hitting the road for some more basketball."
The Warriors shot 52.6% from 3-point range with 10 3-pointers made. They outrebounded Bushnell 43-35 and had 22 points off the bench. The LC State defense held the Beacons to 33.3% from the field and just 2-for-18 (11.1%) from 3-point range.
UP NEXT
The Warriors will take on second-seeded Oregon Tech on the road on Saturday in the CCC semifinal. Tipoff in Klamath Falls is set for 7 p.m.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
