| LEWISTON, Idaho – The No. 7 LC State Women’s Basketball team came out red hot against Walla Walla University in a midweek Cascade Conference matchup on Wednesday. The Warriors opened the contest on a 23-0 run and never looked back. LC State defeated the Wolves 60-34 to improve to 9-2 overall and 5-1 in CCC play. “Our intensity to start the game was fantastic,” Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “I loved how we came out ready to compete and set the tone from the jump. Our defensive communication, rotations and rebounding was great tonight and we did an excellent job defending for four quarters.” Freshmen Tatum Brager, Camden Barger and Grace Beardin all saw valuable minutes in the contes and contributed in big ways. The Warriors had 24 points off the bench. “Our whole team came in to the game and had impactful minutes,” Orlandi added “Tatum had an excellent week of practice and she played so well tonight. Camden with seven boards from the point guard spot was so great, Mataya (Green) came in with great energy and always makes things happen, and Grace Beardin was flying around on defense and is a player that gets better every single day.” HOW IT HAPPENED The Warriors scored 23 straight points and held the Wolves off the board until 1:46 to take a commanding lead in the opening quarter. Callie Stevens scored 13 points in the stretch with five from Maddie Holm, three from Ellie Sander and two from Lindsey Wilson. LC State was 5-of-7 from 3-point range in the first eight minutes and 9-of-11 from the field. Baskets by freshmen Darian Herring and Brager closed out the first frame with the Warriors in front 28-5. The second quarter was more evenly fought with LC State outscoring WWU 12-11. Wilson, Sander and Stevens combined for the first seven Warrior points of the quarter to move the LC advantage to 35-8 at 5:09. Brager drained a triple in the closing seconds to send the Warrior women into the break with a 40-16 lead. Five points combined from Wilson, Stevens and Herring had the LC advantage at 45-20 at the 6:28 mark in the third quarter. The frame was evenly contested with each team scoring 12 points, and the Warriors led 52-28 with 10 minutes to play. The offense slowed for both teams in the final quarter with LC outscoring WWU 8-6. Brager led the Warrior with three points in the span and Barger grabbed four rebounds. Stevens led all scorers with 16 points and Brager scored a career-high 11 points. Green led the defense with eight rebounds, while Wilson, Holm and Barger each grabbed seven boards. Stevens and Sander each tallied four steals and three assists. UP NEXT The Warriors open the 2024 slate on Jan. 5 at Eastern Oregon before heading to the College of Idaho on Jan. 6. LC State returns home on Jan. 13 to host No. 20 Southern Oregon. Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors. | 
