KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Sitara Byrd could not be stopped on Friday with the best performance of the year at just the right time. The sophomore did not miss from the field, and her 24-point, 10-rebound double-double helped No. 11 LC State down No. 22 Oregon Tech 75-60 in the semifinal round of the Cascade Conference Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by U.S. Bank.
Callie Stevens added 20 points and the LC State defense forced 22 OIT turnovers. The Warriors capitalized with 31 points off turnovers.
“This was an excellent team win today and I am so proud of this team,” Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “They were all so tough on the defensive end and found ways to get stops. We forced 22 turnovers and at this point in the season, that’s big time. We defended the arc very well tonight too.”
LC State will take on No. 18 Southern Oregon in a rematch of the 2022 CCC title game on Monday in Ashland. The Warriors are making their fourth straight trip to the championship game and have done so every year since joining the CCC.
“I couldn’t be prouder to be this team’s coach and I’m so excited I get to coach them some more” Orlandi said. “We get to enjoy the win tonight, and then start preparing for another tough match up.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
LC outscored the Owls 16-11 in the first 10 minutes. Lindsey Wilson, Ellie Sander and Callie Stevens combined for a 6-0 run to start the game. Baskets by Stevens and Mataya Green kept the lead at 10-4 at 6:29 before OIT evened the score 10-10 two minutes later.
Stevens drained a 3 to put LC State back in front at 3:47 and Sander completed a three-point play to cap another six-point run at end the first quarter.
Sitara Byrd got hot in the second quarter with 13 points including three 3-pointers. The sophomore scored seven points in the first two minutes to push the Warrior advantage to 23-17 by 8:21. OIT rallied to cut the difference to 23-22 at 5:38 before four straight free throws by Darian Herring push the lead back out to 27-22 a minute later.
Stevens and Byrd each netted a triple to maintain a slim 33-28 lead with 2:39 to play in the half, but the Owls pulled within one once more, 33-32, with 2:02 to go. Free throws by Stevens widened the gap once more before another 3 by Byrd in the final minute had the LC State lead at 38-34 at the break.
A layup by Sander preceded another 3 by Byrd fueled a five-point run for the Warriors to open the second half. OIT surged for a run of seven to make it a 43-40 difference by 6:05.
Foul shots by Green and layup by Byrd stretched the difference to seven points midway through the quarter. Herring made it a six-point run and 49-40 at 3:16 as the Warriors held OIT off the board for more than four minutes.
Byrd hit her fifth 3-pointer at 1:13 for a 10-point lead, 52-42, and that is how the game sat with 10 minute to play.
Stevens and Sander converted on two free throws each before Sander added a layup to carry the lead from the previous frame to nine points. Stevens drained a 3 to make it a 12-point stretch for a 61-42 lead with 7:25 to play.
Sander nailed a triple midway through the final quarter and Byrd added to her night with two free throws. A 25-foot 3-pointer by Stevens made it 70-53 at 3:47. Green and Byrd added to the total in the final minute to send LC State to the CCC title game for the fourth straight year.
Byrd led the contest with 24 points and 10 rebounds. She became the first Warrior to go 8-for-8 from the field since Brittany Tackett went 9-for-9 in 2016. She was a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range, a career-high, with the lone blemish being a 3-for-4 night at the free throw line. She also grabbed three steals.
“We definitely came ready to play today and came out firing on all cylinders,” Orlandi said. “Sitara was remarkable tonight; 5-for-5 from the 3-point line was incredible. We watched our game film and knew we liked the match up that Sitara had and she definitely delivered tonight.”
Stevens added 20 points with four 3-pointers, five assists and three steals. Sander added 14 points with three assists and Green tallied eight points and eight rebounds with four assists. Herring filled the stat sheet with seven points, five boards, three assists, three blocked shots and two steals.
“Callie did Callie things and does a great job fighting defensive pressure all game long,” Orlandi added. “I thought offensively we cut hard and forced them into defensive communication problems the whole game. Our sets are good when we run them through and when we can do that, good things come from it. We were just a few assists short of our team goal, but I thought we looked for the open player all game.”
The Warriors shot 43.6% as a team and had 17 assists on 24 made baskets. The defense forced 22 turnovers, including seven by one of the CCC’s best players in OIT’s Olivia Sprague. LC held the Owls to just 2-of-16 (.125) from behind the arc.
UP NEXT
LC State will stay down south to take on top-seeded SOU on Monday. The Raiders took the meeting in the regular-season finale to earn the regular-season CCC title. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. in Ashland. A full preview of the matchup will be available on Sunday.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
