11/2/2024 | Alisha Alexander | Assistant Athletic Director-Sports Information
LEWISTON, Idaho – Five Warrior scored in double-digits and the LC State defense capitalized on turnovers on Saturday’s season-opening victory. The No. 24 LC State Women’s Basketball team defeated Haskell Indian Nations (Kan.) 97-59 as part of Tribal Nations Weekend, presented by the Clearwater River Casino & Lodge.
Juniors Sitara Byrd and Payton Hymas stepped up big for the Warriors on both ends of the court, as did seniors Ellie Sander, Mataya Green and Tessa Karlberg.
“Great team win tonight and to see five players in double-digit scoring is really great,” Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “I believe that balanced scoring is going to be a big theme for us this season. We shared the ball well tonight and took care of it against a high-pressure team. We ended the game with 52 points in the paint and that was big for us.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
LC State got the season started with a five-point run with three points from Hymas and two foul shots by Green. The Warriors added a run of six after a free throw by HINU with tallies from Lindsey Wilson, Green and Byrd to make it 11-1 at 5:52. Byrd scored 12 points in the first 10 minutes and Tatum Brager capped the scoring with a 3-pointer to give LC State a 25-17 lead after the first quarter of play.
Hymas got the second frame going with a layup 15 seconds in before hitting a 3 after a basket by Green. A triple by Byrd pushed the LC State advantage to 35-21 at 5:58 and back-to-back buckets by Byrd and Hymas gave the Warriors their largest lead of the half at 43-25 with three minutes to play. Wilson, Camden Barger and Sander each added to the total for a 48-33 margin at the half.
The Warriors opened the third quarter with a 10-point rally including six points from Sander. Green and Hymas aided in the run that grew the advantage to 58-33 by 7:38. Barger scored seven points in the final 3:42 of the frame to help LC State take an 80-43 lead into the final 10 minutes.
A free throw by Karlberg started the scoring in the fourth quarter and Kendall Wallace joined in on the action with a layup after a steal at 5:57. Karlberg added 10 points in a two-minute span before Wallace put the game away with a layup to bring the score to 97-59.
STAT RECAP
Byrd tied for the game-high with 21 points and led the contest with nine rebounds. She drained a career-best nine field goals on a 9-for-14 night. Hymas added 14 points to go with her career-high six boards, six assists and four steals and Karlberg tacked on 11 points in her LC State debut.
“Sitara was excellent tonight and kept making things happen when things were going slow,” Orlandi said. “She crashes the glass so efficiently and six offensive rebounds for her tonight was big time. Her 21 points and nine rebounds are all hard earned. She works every time she steps on the court and she is a huge part of what we do here. I though Payton did an excellent job today and her defense was tough. She is going to be a remarkable point guard and is going to get everyone involved.”
The senior duo of Green and Sander each scored 13 points, with Green’s being a career-high, and Sander tied her career-best with seven steals. Barger stepped up with the best performance of her career with nine points on 4-for-6 shooting.
“Ellie Sander just jumps out of nowhere and comes up with big steals, and her stat stuffing will get to continue on to her senior season,” Orlandi added. “She is playing with great confidence and makes positive impacts every time she plays.”
Herring grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots and Grace Beardin dealt a personal-best four assists.
LC State outrebounded Haskell 50-37 and forced 28 turnovers. The Warriors scored 48 points off those turnovers with the help of 23 steals. LC shot 45.3% from the floor.
UP NEXT
The Warrior women hit the road for a pair of contests in Arizona next week. LC State will take on Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) on Nov. 6 and Park-Gilbert (Ariz.) on Nov. 7.