| LEWISTON, Idaho – There are times when a new head coach takes over a program and shakes it up into their vision. For Caelyn Orlandi, that vision has been in motion for years. Orlandi takes over for Brian Orr who coached the Warriors for 22 seasons and won an LC State Women’s Basketball record 538 games. Orlandi played for Orr and joined the staff after graduating in 2017. She served the associate head coach for the past three seasons and was named the WBCA NAIA Assistant Coach of the Year last year. In her first season in the top position, Orlandi faces high expectations with a strong roster with lots of experience. The Warriors open the season No. 11 in the NAIA preseason poll as they open their season on Saturday at noon PT against NCAA Division I Montana State in Bozeman, Mont. “This team is awesome, really. All these girls work hard,” Orlandi said. “When you don’t have to coach work ethic, I think that is a huge thing right there. They just come to compete every single day.” The Warriors are led by a pair of seniors in Callie Stevens and Maddie Holm. Stevens was named the Cascade Conference Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. The Puyallup, Wash., native averaged 14.0 points per game and hit 70 3-pointers last season. Stevens is at 1,058 total points in her Warrior career and looks to move into the top-10 all-time this year. Holm was voted First-Team All-Cascade Conference each of the last two seasons and led the team in rebounding in both years. The senior forward already has 628 boards to her name and is just 43 away from cracking the top-10 on the all-time Warrior record book. Junior Ellie Sander led the Cascade Conference in steals last season with 75 and had the best shooting percentage on the team at .485. Fellow junior Mataya Green averaged 3.2 rebounds a game and blocked 15 shots as a key role player off the bench. “I asked the girls, ‘Do you think you could beat yourself in a one-on-one game from last year? Who you were last year to who you are now,’” Orlandi said. “Every day you have to get better. Every season you have to get better.” With only four upperclassmen, one would think experience would be a factor for the Warriors, but Orlandi’s strong recruiting has created a strong rotation of success. The talented freshman class from last year looks to take a large step forward. Lindsey Wilson, Ella Nelson, Payton Hymas and Cascade Conference Freshman of the Year Sitara Byrd all contributed last year and got valuable minutes in key situations. Camden Barger saw her first on-court action with the team in the offseason after injuries derailed her first year at LC State. “Everything we do is a competition within yourself,” Orlandi explained. “We set team goals. We try to compete with that at practice. So, every day we’re going against something, trying to get something done a little better than the day before.” Three freshmen in Darian Herring, Grace Beardin and Tatum Brager join the fold and Orlandi said that the experience that each one of them have already received from playing with their teammates has been invaluable. “Grace has been playing the four spot for us and gets to go against Maddie Holm every day, she’s going to get better right there,” Orlandi said. “Then Darian, she gets to compete against Lindsey Wilson, and so both spots right there, they’re learning every day. Tatum is playing the two spot for us, so she’s competing against Callie, against Ellie, and just playing against great competition every day. They’re going to get better.” LC State takes on NCAA Division III Whitman College for the first action at the P1FCU Activity Center on Nov. 2 before the Warriors host the Twin Rivers Physical Therapy Classic on Nov. 10-11. LC State takes on two preseason ranked opponents in non-conference play when they travel to Helena, Mont., to take on No. 6 Carroll and No. 24 Providence. Cascade Conference play opens up on Nov. 30 at home against Northwest and Dec. 1 against Evergreen State. The Warriors went 30-4 in 2023, but two of those losses came to No. 16 Eastern Oregon, including the Cascade Conference title game. The two will meet on Jan. 5 in La Grande, Ore., and again on Feb. 3 in Lewiston. The 28-game regular season schedule concludes on Feb. 24 at Southern Oregon. The Cascade Conference tournament runs from Feb. 27-Mar. 4. “Our goal is to cut down some nets,” Orlandi said. Stay up to date on all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors. | 
