LEWISTON – No. 7 Lewis-Clark State Women’s Basketball returned to the P1FCU Activity Center on Friday and dominated in an NAIA top-25 matchup against No. 20 Southern Oregon University. The Warrior defense stepped up in the 68-42 victory behind 25 points from Callie Stevens.
LC State forced 23 SOU turnovers and outrebounded the Raiders 43-36. The Warriors tallied 13 steals and five blocks in a contest where they outscored their opponent 18-0 in second-chance points.
“Our defense tonight was so fun to watch,” Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “Our rotations were smooth, we communicated and we defended the 3-point line. We always talk about our last line of defense being the rebound and I thought we battled hard on the glass. We capitalized on 26 points off of their turnovers and were able to snag 13 steals.”
With the win, LC State improves to 12-2 overall and 8-1 in Cascade Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Maddie Holm opened the scoring in the contest and Ellie Sander added a pair of free throws to give LC an early 4-0 edge. Stevens and Sander combined for five straight points to stretch the margin to 9-2 by 6:00, and another basket by Holm had the lead at 11-5 a minute later.
Darian Herring and Sander each scored a pair of buckets for a nine-point run to give LC a double-digit lead, 22-10, with under a minute in the opening frame, and the Warriors led 22-12 after 10 minutes.
Stevens scored the first five points of the second quarter before a 3 by Holm capped the run at eight with LC in front 30-12 at 7:15. Holm, Sitara Byrd and Stevens combined for a seven-point rally down the stretch and the Warriors held a 37-21 advantage at the break.
Back-to-back triples by Stevens and Sander, along with a free throw by Lindsey Wilson, had the Warrior women off to a hot start in the second half. A 3-pointer by Byrd pushed the difference to 47-24 by 7:05 before SOU shut down the LC offense for the remaining seven minutes. Despite the drought, LC led 48-33 heading into the final frame.
After a basket by SOU, Stevens and Holm tallied three straight 3-pointers for a 57-35 lead midway through the frame. The senior duo, along with Herring, added to the total in the final three minutes to close out the 68-42 victory.
The Warriors finished with 19 assists on 25 made baskets on the night.
“SOU is a very tough team and applies great defensive pressure,” Orlandi said. “I thought the second half we took care of the ball and I was proud of how we played together. I love watching our assists per game number climb and enjoy watching us share the basketball.
Stevens led all scorers with 25 points on a 10-for-19 night from the field. She drained five 3-pointers with three assists. Sander added 15 points with four assists and three steals, and Holm padded the stat sheet with 14 points, nine rebounds and five steals. Herring also collected nine board to go with her three blocked shots.
“We had so many great stat lines tonight and there were many positives about the team tonight,” Orlandi added. “I am so lucky to coach such a great team who works hard every day and every night. Today’s win was big, but we have to move on and get ready for OIT tomorrow. OIT is a very talented team and should be a top-25 team. We look forward to the matchup tomorrow and competing again.”
Kami Walk led SOU with 18 points and eight rebounds while Meghan McIntyre dealt six assists.
UP NEXT
The Warriors play the final home game of January on Saturday against conference leading Oregon Tech. Tip off is set for 4 p.m. in the P1FCU Activity Center.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
