(Lewiston, ID) The Warrior women moved up two spots in Wednesday’s NAIA Women’s Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll to No. 22 in the nation. LC State is off to a 3-0 start to the season with a big matchup against No. 9 Carroll (Mont.) at home on Friday.
The Warriors defeated Haskell Indian Nations (Kan.) 97-59 in the season opener before hitting the road for wins at Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) and Park-Gilbert (Ariz.). Sitara Byrd was voted the Cascade Conference Offensive Player of the Week after scoring 21 points against HINU, and Ellie Sander earned CCC Defensive Player of the Week honors after 11 steals on the Arizona trip.
Both Byrd (15.0) and Sander (12.0) are averaging double-digits points with Payton Hytmas (9.3) and Mataya Green (9.0) not far behind. Darian Herring leads the defense with 5.7 rebounds per game and nine blocks, while Sander’s 6.0 steals per game ranks second in the nation.
LC State is averaging 87 points per game with a .486 field goal percentage. The Warriors are fourth in the NAIA in assists per game with 23.3.
CCC opponent Southern Oregon moved up six spots to No. 4 while Oregon Tech fell out of the top 25 and is receiving votes.
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LC State hosts a non-conference tournament in the P1FCU Activity Center this weekend. The Warrior will take on Carroll on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and NCAA Division III Puget Sound on Saturday at 4 p.m.