(Portland, OR) Every Warrior scored in No. 13 LC State Women’s Basketball’s dominant victory at Warner Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday. The Warriors rolled past the Knights 83-38 and allowed just 10 field goals in the contest.
“Huge turn around in our defensive intensity and anticipation to the next option,” coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “I thought our defense struggled the last few weeks and I am excited to see us defend the way I know we can. Our guards did a great job moving together and our forwards defended the wings extremely well.”
The Warrior women improve to 12-2 on the season and 6-2 in Cascade Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sitara Byrd hit a 3 on the first possession of the game and Ellie Sander added two points the next time down the court. Mataya Green made it seven straight LC State points to start the contest and back-to-back baskets by Darian Herring fueled an 11-2 lead at 6:06.
Sander and Byrd continued the offensive onslaught for a 16-3 advantage by 4:43. Kendall Wallace hit a 3 within 30 seconds of coming off the bench and Byrd stretched the scoring run to 10 points. The Warriors led 21-3 after 10 minutes.
WPU scored the first basket of the second frame, but Green responded with a layup at 7:41. Wallace hit her second triple of the contest before a steal by Grace Beardin turned into a layup by the sophomore for seven straight points. An and-1 play by Tessa Karlberg capped the run at 10 points for a 31-5 lead by 5:29.
After a bucket by the Knights, LC State saw a scoring run of six with contributions from Sander and Camden Barger. The margin sat at 30 points, 37-7, with 2:38 to play in the first half. Ella Nelson added a basket for the Warriors to have the LC State lead at 39-16 at the break.
Herring and Barger combined for the first five points of the third quarter, and a layup by Herring made it 46-17 by 8:20. Sander, Green and Barger tallied nine straight to make it 55-19 before Tatum Brager hit a 3 for a 58-20 cushion at 5:08.
Sander, Green and Beardin strung together seven consecutive points before Wallace and Brager added four for a 69-22 lead. LC State held a 69-24 advantage with 10 minutes to play.
A triple by Brager put the Warriors on the board in the final frame and Barger followed with a basket for a short run of five. Freshmen Keira O’Neill, Bella Firnkoess and Wallace all scored in the final minutes of the 83-38 victory.
STAT RECAP
Sander led the Warriors with 14 points on a 6-for-10 night from the field and Green added 10 points. Green and Beardin led the defense with six boards each. Barger and Wallace each scored a career-high nine points and Brager added nine on three 3-pointers. Green added three assists, two steals and two blocks to her day and Herring dealt four assists.
Both Green and Barger were 4-for-5 from the field and Herring was 4-for-4.
“I love a game where we get everyone in and see everyone with a basket,” Orlandi added. “Our freshmen did a great job today and Camden Barger has done an excellent job getting us into our offense. A fantastic team win and another great game sharing the ball.”
LC State shot 54% as a team with 34 points off the bench. The Warriors forced 24 WPU turnovers and capitalized with 25 points off the turnovers. LC State held the Knights to just 10 field goals with a 20.8% mark from the field (10-48).
UP NEXT
The Warriors return to the P1FCU Activity Center on Jan. 10 to host Bushnell (Ore.) at 5 p.m.
