Holm and Stevens Lead LC State Past Southern Oregon, Set Up Rematch with Eastern Oregon in CCC Title Game

LEWISTON – The rematch is set between the No. 10 LC State Warriors and No. 12 Eastern Oregon Mountaineers in Tuesday’s Cascade Conference Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by U.S. Bank. The Warrior women battled past (RV) Southern Oregon in an 80-69 victory in Saturday’s semifinal to advance to the title game at EOU.
 
The seeding between the regular-season co-champions came down to a coin flip. LC State won the flip to earn the conference’s automatic bid which gave EOU the top seed in the CCC tournament.
 
Maddie Holm and Callie Stevens led LC State with 16 points each, and Holm’s night included 11 rebounds for a double-double. The Warriors took control early and led throughout the night.
 
“We got out to a great start on both ends,” Head Coach Brian Orr said. “Our defense played with a sense of urgency and that helped us get our transition game going early. Give SOU a lot of credit because eventually their defense got a string of stops and they got back into it. Every time they made a run we seemed to come up with a big play. We really moved well without the ball and we made some outstanding passes. Definitely another team win and this one came against a really good defensive club.”
 
Back-to-back baskets by Holm and Ellie Sander opened the contest, and a jumper by Stevens sparked a run of nine to give the Warriors a 13-2 lead by 6:09. SOU rallied to pull within two, 17-15, at 2:24, but another basket by Stevens led to a seven-point surge by LC State to end the quarter with the Warriors ahead 24-15.
 
The scoring run continued into the second frame with a three-point play by Lindsey Wilson to make it 10 straight Warrior points. Holm drained consecutive 3-pointers to make it 33-19 with 6:37 to play in the half, but the Raiders gained momentum to cut the margin to two, 36-34, with 2:46 on the clock.
 
Sitara Byrd stepped up with two straight baskets to put the Warriors back in control. A layup by Hannah Broyles ended the first half with LC State on a six-point run and 42-38 advantage.
 
Baskets by Sara Muehlahusen and Sander pushed the scoring stretch to 10 in the second half. The teams traded baskets throughout the third frame and the Warriors led 59-51 heading into the final quarter.
 
The back-and-forth continued into the final period until a free throw by Stevens started a run of seven LC State points. A jumper by Stevens and a pair of free throws by Mataya Green had the lead at 72-58 with 4:15 to play, and Stevens, Green and Byrd added tallies in the final minutes to seal the 80-69 victory.
 
Stevens and Holm led the scoring efforts for LC State with 16 points each and Byrd scored 10. Holm grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the defense and Muehlhausen had six. Stevens and Sander each dished out five assists, Sander grabbed four steals and Stevens and Byrd each had three.
 
SOU’s Kami Walk led all scorers with 26 points in the contest and grabbed eight boards. She was 10-for-18 from the floor and 6-for-10 from 3-point range.
 
LC State shot .524 as a team and scored 80 points against the CCC’s leader in points per game defense. SOU allowed 55.8 points per game coming into the night.
 
UP NEXT
The Warriors head to Eastern Oregon on Tuesday for the CCC title game. Tip off in La Grande, Ore., is set for 5:30 p.m. and a full preview of the matchup will be available on Monday.
 
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