LEWISTON – Callie Stevens dropped 27 points to lead four different Warriors in double-digit points to help No. 10 LC State to a 78-63 win over Montana Western in the Twin Rivers Physical Therapy Classic on Friday. Maddie Holm was a force on defense with 14 rebounds as the Warriors improved to 2-0 on the young season. LC State had 49 boards with 20 being offensive.
“I thought our team battled and responded all game long,” Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “Montana Western has really great shooters and plays tough defense and I credit Coach Cooper for coaching a great game. Our two seniors, Maddie Holm and Callie Stevens, showed tremendous grit. Maddie Holm was relentless on the boards and Callie Stevens always had an answer for us on offense. They are Warriors through and through.”
A big 28-point fourth quarter helped seal the win for LC State after a slow-rolling first half. Lindsey Wilson was a big spark for the Warriors with a career-high 14 points. Payton Hymas stepped up with 15 of LC’s 21 points.
“A career high from Lindsey Wilson is always exciting and she did a great job of demanding the ball inside,” Orlandi added. “Payton Hymas came in off the bench and immediately made an impact for us and has been so good the last two games. Ellie Sander came up with some big steals and Sitara Byrd on the offensive glass was big. Tonight was a total team effort and now we get to get ready for a talented Montana Tech team.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Byrd turned an offensive rebound into a layup for Wilson before dishing an assist to Stevens to give the Warriors a 5-3 lead in the first two minutes. A second 3 by Stevens was followed by a bucket by Sander to push the different to five, 10-5, two minutes later. The teams traded baskets until back-to-back tallies by Wilson and Stevens ended the first quarter with LC State ahead 17-12.
A jumper by Hymas at 8:27 in the second frame sparked a run of 10 to push the advantage to 27-13. Wilson had two buckets in the stretch and Stevens and Sander each added one. Five points from Hymas made it a 32-18 lead with 3:21 to play in the half, and a free throw by Sander sent the Warriors to the locker room with a 33-24 lead.
Wilson scored the first bucket of the third quarter to push the margin to double-digits, 35-24, and Holm added a pair before a 3 by Sander made it 42-31 at 6:15. UMW rallied to cut the difference to three by 4:24, but baskets by Holm and Darian Herring pushed the lead back out to 48-42. Foul shots by Mataya Green gave LC a 50-43 edge heading into the final 10 minutes.
The margin was cut to four points in the opening minute of the final quarter, but five straight points from Hymas kept LC in front 55-46. A free throw by Wilson started a stretch of 10 straight LC points to give the Warriors a 66-51 cushion by 4:27, and a pair of 3s by Stevens made it 72-58 by 2:42. Five points from Stevens in the final two minutes capped the scoring at 78-63.
Stevens led all scorers with 27 points with five 3-pointers. Hymas added 15 points, Wilson scored 14 and Sander tallied 10. Stevens and Sander tied for the team-lead with four steals each. Holm was big on defense with 14 rebounds to go with a team-best four assists.
The Warriors shot 44.6% from the field as a team and 38.1% from 3-point range. The Warriors had 14 steals and outrebounded UMW 49-30.
UP NEXT
The Warriors host the final game of the Twin Rivers Physical Therapy Classic on Saturday when they face Montana Tech. Tip off is set for 3 p.m. in the P1FCU Activity Center.
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