| WALLA WALLA, Wash. – In a stunning sequence of events, No. 13 LC State Women’s Basketball erased a 17-point deficit to defeat NCAA Division III No. 14 Whitman in Walla Walla on Friday. The Warrior defense was unstoppable in the final 10 minutes and denied every Whitman attempt in a 17-0 fourth quarter. The victory has LC State off to a 10-0 record, the best start to a season since 2016-17. Mataya Green highlighted the Warrior efforts with a career-best 14 points.
“We came alive in the second half defensively,” Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “We rebounded, we defended the 3 and found a way to win on the road. Our fourth quarter defense was special and holding an extremely talented team to no points in the fourth was remarkable. Whitman college is very good and are going to have a great season.
The Blues outscored LC State 25-8 in the first quarter before the Warriors turned things around. After trailing 35-19 at the break, the LC State defense allowed just 12 points in the third quarter before shutting out Whitman in the fourth. The Blues went 0-for-14 in the final frame to suffer its first loss of the season. Friday’s fourth quarter was the first time LC State held an opponent scoreless in a frame since facing Northwest Indian College in 2015.
“We came out of halftime with determination and poise,” junior Payton Hymas said. “Our defense was excellent. We held them to 12 points in the third quarter and zero points in the fourth quarter. I was proud of the way our team responded today.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Hymas was the first to score but Whitman took the lead with a 3-pointer on the next possession. Ellie Sander put LC back in front by a slim margin with free throws and a jumper to make it 6-5 after four minutes. The lead continued to change hands until a run by the Blues had Whitman in front 20-6 at the 2:25 mark.
Darian Herring cut the run at 2:11 with a layup but Whitman continued to hit nearly every shot from 3-point range. The Blues led 25-8 after 10 minutes.
Sitara Byrd got the momentum going for LC State in the second frame with a layup before free throws by Herring and a layup by Sander combined for a six-point run. The rally cut the deficit to 25-14 at 8:07. Lindsey Wilson converted a pair of foul shots after a scoring drought of four minutes for both teams and a layup by Ella Nelson cut the difference to single-digits, 27-18, with 2:51 to play in the half.
Whitman regained its footing to push the margin back to 31-19 with 90 seconds on the clock. The Blues grew the lead to 35-19 by the end of the first half.
The Warriors came out hot in the third quarter with a 15-0 run to pull within 35-34 at 5:18. LC State held Whitman off the board for nearly five minutes after Sander kickstarted the rally with a layup. Green tallied nine points in the stretch and Byrd added four points. The Blues answered with four points to push the margin to 39-34 to start a back-and-forth. Baskets by Hymas, Nelson and Sander had the deficit at 47-40 with 10 minutes to play.
The Warriors denied every Whitman attempt in the fourth quarter to shut out the Blues 17-0 in the frame. Camden Barger started the period with a 3 and Herring, Nelson, Hymas and Green did the rest. A block by Herring denied Whitman’s final shot to end the game.
STAT RECAP
Green led the Warriors with her career-high 14 points on a 6-for-9 night from the field. She grabbed seven boards. Sander scored 11 with a team-high eight rebounds and three assists. Hymas and Herring each scored eight points with Hymas adding four steals and Herring contributing six rebounds.
“Mataya Green showed senior leadership today and played so incredibly well,” Orlandi added. “Darian Herring is an offensive nightmare for opposing teams, Ellie Sander was tough for 40 minutes and Payton Hymas played fantastic defense. Coaching player led teams is simply the best and this team is full of leaders who encourage, hold each other accountable, and find ways to win.”
LC State forced 18 turnovers that turned into 28 points and held Whitman to 6-for-25 shooting in the second half. The Blues entered the contest averaging 74 points per game just under 50% shooting.
UP NEXT
The Warriors close out 2024 at home next weekend with Cascade Conference contests against Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho.
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