Local News

Loss to OIT Sets Up Winner-Take-All Saturday for Women’s Basketball

Published

February 23, 2024

2/23/2024 | Alisha Alexander | Assistant Athletics Director-Sports Information

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The No. 6 LC State Women’s Basketball team had its winning streak snapped on Friday with a 76-61 loss to No. 25 Oregon Tech. The loss sets up a winner-take-all scenario against No. 22 Southern Oregon in the regular-season finale on Saturday.

“We dug ourselves into a hole that we couldn’t get out of,” Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “Credit to OIT for coming to play right from the get-go. We got away from what we have been doing all season long and offensively we did not do a great job of getting our teammates into scoring positions.”

The loss moves LC State to 23-3 overall and 19-2 in Cascade Conference play.

“The good thing about this is that we have to move on immediately and get ready to play another ranked team tomorrow,” Orlandi added. “We will need to be ready to go against a tough Southern Oregon defense.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Warriors came out of the gate hot with a 7-2 run. Tallies by Lindsey Wilson, Callie Stevens and Sitara Byrd put LC State in front early before OIT rallied to pull ahead 13-11 with 3:32 to play in the first quarter. Tech added to its lead for a 19-12 advantage after 10 minutes.

The Owls continued their run in the second frame with a commanding 29-14 lead at 7:24. The Warrior offense picked with baskets by Darian Herring, Wilson, Ella Nelson, Byrd, Mataya Green and Tatum Brager, but OIT led 47-32 at the break.

Baskets by Ellie Sander, Byrd and Stevens cut the difference to 10, 51-41, two minutes into the third quarter. A jumper by Green kept the margin at 10 midway through the frame and Stevens, Herring and Green chipped away to a single-digit difference.

A layup by Sander at 1:43 had the Warriors within seven, 60-53, and free throws had the OIT lead at 62-53 with 10 minutes to play.

Oregon Tech dominated the final quarter and held the Warriors to their lowest 10-minute scoring output of the season with eight points to wrap up the contest.

Byrd led the Warriors with 16 points and Stevens added 15. Green led the defense with nine rebounds and Byrd grabbed six. Green dealt three assists and blocked four shots.

UP NEXT

The Warriors close out the regular season on Saturday at No. 22 Southern Oregon. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. in Ashland, Ore.

Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.

UP NEXT