(Lewiston, ID) Darian Herring blocked eight shots and the Warriors totaled 12 blocks, both of which tied single-game records, on Friday to fuel No. 13 LC State Women’s Basketball’s 71-50 win over Bushnell University. The Warrior forced 23 Beacon turnovers and tallied 15 steals in the contest.
Ellie Sander led the contest with 18 points to go with five boards, three blocked shots and three steals while Sitara Byrd grabbed 10 rebounds and snagged five steals. LC State had 15 assists on 28 made field goals. Every Warrior in the game scored.
“Another balanced attack tonight by our Warrior team,” coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “I love the way that every player can attack the basket and find ways to contribute to our offense in a variety of ways with varying offensive abilities. It makes our team tough to guard and having more than half of our field goals being assisted makes for a fun night.”
The win improves the LC State record to 13-2 overall and 7-2 in Cascade Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
LC State opened the contest with a quick 6-0 run on tallies by Sander, Mataya Green and Camden Barger. Both Sander and Barger notched steals to lead to their baskets. Herring had two blocks and Green added one by the 7:30 mark. After a layup by Lindsey Wilson at 6:20, the Beacons rattled off eight straight points to take a 9-8 lead.
Tatum Brager came off the bench and turned a steal by Byrd into a 3-pointer, and a three-point play by Byrd made it 14-9 in favor of LC State by the end of the first 10 minutes.
Back-to-back baskets by Kendall Wallace and Brager had the advantage at 18-11 at 8:45 in the second quarter. Bushnell pulled within four, 18-14, at 7:53, but a pair of 3s by Grace Beardin and Wallace, as well as a layup by Byrd, pushed the margin back out to 26-14 two minutes later. Tessa Karlberg and Herring each tallied a bucket and Sander drained a 3 with 52 seconds left to make it 34-21. Beardin beat the buzzer with a triple to send the Warriors to halftime with a 37-21 lead.
Byrd, Sander and Green combined for nine straight points to put the Warriors in front 46-23 at 5:55 in the third. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the frame and LC State took a 51-33 advantage into the final quarter.
The back-and-forth continued in the final 10 minutes before a layup by Sander sparked an eight-point run. Tallies by Wilson and Herring had the lead at 66-44 by 4:14, and foul shots Green and Wilson made it 69-50 with 90 seconds to play. A layup by Wilson capped the scoring in the 71-50 win.
STAT RECAP
Herring tied the single-game block record set by Sara Muehlhausen (2022) with a career-high eight blocked shots on the night. The 12 team blocks tied the mark set in 1991. The Warrior defense was solid all night with 15 steals, led by five from Byrd and three each by Sander and Barger, and 23 forced turnovers. LC State capitalized with 32 points off turnovers. Byrd led the team in rebounds with 10 and Herring had nine.
“I challenged both Darian and Sitara today to get more rebounds and they did a great job of grabbing them for us and also contributed all over the stat sheet,” Orlandi said. “Sitara was relentless on the glass and crashed effectively on the offensive boards to grab 10 total boards for us and Darian’s overall defensive game was so tough today. Her ability to move and get to the next player to block shots is so remarkable and I am proud of her new career record.”
Sander led all scorers with 18 points and Wilson added 10. Byrd led the team in assists with five, while Sander filled the box score with three steals, three blocks and five boards.
“Ellie Sander did a great job starting the game off with some quick steals and transitioning down the floor and did an excellent job of getting to the basket in the second half. When she can turn her defense into offense, she is a force on the floor and I loved to see that from her tonight,” Orlandi added. “Lindsey Wilson did a great job the second half for us defending and scoring in the paint. She comes in and makes a positive impact for us immediately and she has embraced her role to the fullest this year and I am so proud of the teammate and player she is.”
The Warriors shot 43.8% from the field and held Bushnell to 27.9%.
Bushnell’s Libby Mathis led the contest with 13 rebounds and completed her double-double with a team-high 12 points. Nevaeh Lopez tallied 11 points. The Beacons outrebounded LC State 45-44, including 25 offensive boards.
UP NEXT
LC State hosts Corban University on Saturday in the P1FCU Activity Center at 4 p.m.