KIRKLAND, Wash. – The No. 7 Warriors cruised to their ninth straight victory on Saturday with an 86-44 rout of Northwest University. Ellie Sander led the potent LC State offense with 23 points to go with 19 from Callie Stevens.
LC’s defense grabbed 42 rebounds and forced 25 Eagle turnovers.
“Our defensive effort was fantastic tonight and I was very excited about how we started the game,” Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “We were playing in passing lanes and had tremendous rotations. Our 16 steals led to 26 points and I love when our defense turns into offense.”
With the win, LC State is 17-2 on the season and 13-1 in Cascade Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Ellie Sander, Callie Stevens and Mataya Green combined for a 7-0 run to open the contest as the LC defense held NU off the board for two minutes. Stevens answered the Eagle 3-pointer with one of her own before a steal and layup gave the senior seven points by 6:52. A triple by Sander had the Warrior lead at 15-5 by 6:30.
Stevens and Sander combined for an eight-point run, including a 3-pointer from each, for a 23-6 advantage at 3:50 in the opening frame. Foul shots by Green pushed the run to 10 before the Eagles snapped the four-minute scoring drought at 2:01. Darian Herring and Ella Nelson each scored to help grow the lead to 29-13 after the first quarter.
The Eagles held the Warriors scoreless for the first four minutes of the second period before a steal by Sander fed into a layup by Stevens at 5:33 to make it a 31-17 contest. Byrd scored back-to-back buckets to keep the momentum with LC State, and foul shots by Byrd, Sander and Stevens had the lead at 44-24 at the break.
Sander led the contest with 17 points in the first half and Stevens scored 14.
NU scored the first three points of the third quarter before Byrd and Green each scored to keep the margin at 20 points. Sander fought her way to the basket for an and-one play midway through the frame before draining a 3 to push the lead to 56-32. Herring capped the eight-point run at 2:57. The Warriors led 58-34 with 10 minutes to play.
Camden Barger tallied a basket to start the fourth quarter and Stevens netted another triple for a 63-36 lead at 7:57. Nelson, Wilson and Stevens contributed to a 69-38 lead before a 3 by Tatum Brager and four points by Byrd made it 76-40 with 3:57 on the clock.
Grace Beardin scored and Brager added two triples in the final minutes of the 86-44 victory.
Sander led all scorers with 23 points on a 7-for-13 night from the field. She was 4-for-8 from 3-point range and added six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Stevens scored 19 points with three steals and Byrd grabbed nine rebounds. Wilson and Byrd each added three steals.
“Having four players with three steals is really special,” Orlandi said. “Another game that every player contributed in a positive way and our team battled tough all game long. Mataya was tremendous on the offensive glass, Sitara was big on the back side getting defensive boards, Ellie attacked the glass with great speed, Callie did a great job pushing the ball and getting us going in the first quarter, and Tatum continues to be impressive at the 3-point line.”
The Warriors shot 43.9% from the field and forced 25 turnovers. LC State went 8-0 in the month on January.
“We are looking forward to our home games next weekend.” Orlandi added. “Our grit and effort through this tough month of January travel was very impressive.”
UP NEXT
The Warriors are back in the P1FCU Activity Center on Feb. 2 to take on in-state rival College of Idaho.
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