(Lewiston, ID) The LC State defense was on full display on Friday night when the No. 24 Warrior women held Warner Pacific University to just 29 points in its 65-29 victory. The Warriors did not allow double-digit points in any quarter including only five in first. Payton Hymas led the game with a career-high 21 points.
“I really enjoyed the way our team defended tonight. Holding them under 10 points each quarter was fantastic defense, and we did an excellent job on the glass as well,” coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “The way we started the game was tremendous and we jumped out to a quick lead initiated by our defense. Forcing 24 turnovers and turning that into 26 points was huge for us tonight.”
The win moves LC State to 17-4 on the season and 11-4 in Cascade Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Warner Pacific scored the first two points of the contest, LC State scored 19 straight for a commanding 19-2 lead. The Knights hit a 3 to cap the scoring in the frame.
WPU tallied the first basket of the second quarter before the Warriors scored nine to make it 28-7 at 3:53. Another triple by the Knights had the margin at 20 before baskets by Mataya Green, Ellie Sander and Kendall Wallace helped close out the half with LC State in front 36-13.
The Knights completed a three-point play to start the third frame before the Warrior offense got back to work. Hymas sparked a short run of six and Wallace nailed a 3 to make it 45-18 at 2:09. Sitara Byrd and Grace Beardin each found the basket for a 49-22 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.
Warner Pacific scored just seven points in the fourth quarter. A bucket by Darian Herring started a scoring stretch of 12 and Keira O’Neill ended the game with a free throw.
STAT RECAP
Hymas led all scorers with her career-best 21 points on an 8-for-13 night from the field. She added two assists, three rebounds and four steals to her night. Herring tallied eight points with nine boards and five blocks.
Green led the defense with 11 rebounds and Byrd grabbed 10. Sander snagged five steals and Byrd had four.
The Warriors brought down a season-high 56 rebounds with 23 being offensive. They held WPU to 20.8% shooting from the floor. LC State blocked 11 shots and had 13 steals.
Blake Barbee led WPU with 12 points and grabbed six rebounds.