(Lewiston, ID) Tatum Brager was one of six players to score double-digits for No. 24 LC State on Wednesday to help the Warriors defeat Park-Gilbert (Ariz.) 85-73. The Warrior defense forced 31 turnovers, and LC State capitalized with 30 points off those turnovers.
“Continually love the way we share the basketball and 48 assists in two days is an excellent way to accomplish our goal of sharing the ball,” Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “It was a great road trip and winning on the road is tough. Proud of the way we fought through and found ways to win. Another strong team win against a Park-Gilbert team that knows how to score.”
The victory improves the Warrior record to 3-0 on the young season after a 2-0 Arizona trip.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tatum Brager tallied the first baskets of the contest and only two baskets of the first three minutes. After a 3 by Park-Gilbert, Sitara Byrd put back an offensive board to make it 6-3 at 6:19. A steal by Ellie Sander, the Warriors’ sixth of the quarter, turned into a jumper by Camden Barger at 3:21 to start an eight-point run with tallies from Mataya Green and Sander to push the lead to 14-6 with 2:14 left in the frame. Sander added her third basket of the frame 30 seconds later before a Green layup and Brager 3-pointer had the Warriors up 21-11 after 10 minutes.
Herring fought her way to a layup and Byrd drained a 3 in the first minute of play in the second quarter to grow the advantage to 26-15. The Warriors battled through a full-court press with a jumper by Sander, and a steal by Sander resulted in a pair of 3s by Brager to push the score to 34-17 by 6:44.
Another steal by Sander fed into a layup by Payton Hymas before Lindsey Wilson joined in on the scoring with a layup and a free throw. Hymas grabbed an offensive board and capitalized at 3:03 for a 41-25 advantage. The Buccaneers rallied for a 7-0 run to cut the difference to single digits, 41-32, with 1:39 to play in the half. Herring scored in the final 10 seconds before a 3 by Park-Gilbert had the Warrior lead at 43-35 at the break.
A layup by Sander in the first minute of the third quarter pushed the lead back to double digits and a 3 by Brager kept it there at 7:41. The Buccaneers continued to chip away at the LC lead but four points by Byrd kept the Warriors in front 52-44 midway through the frame.
Park-Gilbert made it a one-point game with another run before back-to-back 3-pointers by Brager and Byrd gave the Warriors a 60-53 advantage with 30 seconds left in the quarter. Barger closed out the frame with a jumper at the buzzer to send LC State to the final 10 minutes with a 62-53 edge.
Wilson added to lead with a pair of baskets on LC State’s first two possessions of the fourth quarter. The Buccaneers kept pace with a pair of 3 but tallies by Green, Wilson and Sander resulted in a run of six points for a 72-59 lead at 7:14. Hymas answered a Park-Gilbert 3 with one of her own as the Buccaneers continued to pressure LC State with sharp shooting. Wilson took a pass from Hymas to the basket for a 77-68 edge with 5:18 to play.
Foul shots by Green kept the difference in double-digits, 79-68, out of a timeout, but Park-Gilbert did not back down with five straight points. Herring scored three times in the final two minutes to put the game away.
STAT RECAP
Brager led the Warriors with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field including five 3-pointers. Sander and Byrd each scored 12 points, with Sander adding six steals, four rebounds and four assists to her night. Wilson tallied 11 points with a perfect 4-for-4 night from the floor, and Herring scored 10 points with seven boards and a game-high six assists and four blocks.
Green led the defense with eight rebounds and wrapped up her night with 10 points (4-for-6), three assists and two blocks. Barger dished out five assists and Brager and Herring each had three steals.
“Darian did an excellent job of stuffing the stat sheet today, Ellie continued to shine on defense and Camden Barger did a great job sharing the ball and taking care of it,” Orlandi added. “Tatum had a stellar showing offensively and had multiple deflections defensively that didn’t show up in the stat sheet. She was great tonight. Mataya did a good job on the glass and Lindsey did a great job of sealing and scoring in the paint.”
The Warriors shot .529 from the field and had 24 assists on 36 made baskets. LC State had 15 steals and forced 31 turnovers.
UP NEXT
LC State returns to the P1FCU Activity Center for non-conference action Nov. 15-16. The Warriors take on No. 8 Carroll (Mont.) on Nov. 15 and NCAA Division III Puget Sound on Nov. 16.
