KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The No. 10 Warrior Women’s Basketball team turned in an all-around team effort on Saturday to end the regular-season road slate with a 73-64 victory over Oregon Tech.
Hannah Broyles matched her career-high in points (24), Ellie Sander did the same in rebounds (10), and Callie Stevens dished out a personal-best nine assists.
With the victory, LC State is 24-2 overall and 19-1 in Cascade Conference play. The Warriors remain tied with No. 14 Eastern Oregon for the top spot in the CCC standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
“We got out to a pretty good start and our defense was fairly solid,” Head Coach Brian Orr said. “OIT fought its way back and we found ourselves back in another dog fight. I was really proud of how well we responded when it got tight. Hannah made some big shots and Callie did a great job of finding open teammates. Ellie and Maddie did a great job of rebounding all night. Whenever OIT made a run, we had an answer. This win keeps our championship hopes alive.”
Sander and Sara Muehlhausen put LC State on the board with a 6-2 lead in the first two minutes. A 3 and two free throws by Broyles pushed the advantage to 11-4 by 4:48.
A layup by Mataya Green and 3 by Stevens capped the seven-point run, and another basket by Stevens gave the Warriors an 18-8 lead after the first 10 minutes.
OIT surged to pull within one, 22-21, before taking a 24-22 lead at 2:53 in the second. A 3 by Broyles put LC State back in front 30 seconds later, and free throws by Stevens and a jumper by Green had the margin back out to 29-24 with 1:25 to play. Lindsey Wilson added a layup to give the Warriors a 31-26 advantage at the break.
Broyles drained a 3 to begin the second half after a steal by Sander. Sander and Stevens added back-to-back triples to grow the cushion to 40-28 two minutes into the quarter.
Green sparked a run of six, fueled by a 3 by Sitara Byrd and free throw by Wilson, to keep the lead in double-digits, 53-40, in the final two minutes of the frame. The Warriors led 53-42 heading into the final 10 minutes.
LC answered a 3 by OIT with one from Maddie Holm before Muehlhausen added a layup to make it 58-45 at 8:18 in the fourth. A pair of 3s by Broyles kept the Warriors firmly on control through the final minutes.
Stevens added free throws in the final 45 seconds to wrap up the 73-64 victory.
Broyles matched her career-high with a game-leading 24 points. She drained a personal-best six 3-pointers. Sander tied her high with 10 rebounds, and Stevens dished out a career-best nine assists to go with her 17 points.
