LEWISTON – The No. 7 Warrior women won their 10th straight contest on Friday with a 65-46 victory over in-state rival College of Idaho. Four LC State players scored in double-digits, including freshman Darian Herring with her 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The Warriors held C of I to 33.3% from the field and committed just six fouls all game. Ella Nelson scored a career-high 13 points and 6-for-8 shooting and Sitara Byrd grabbed 10 boards to match Herring’s career-best. Callie Stevens led the contest with 15 points.
“We had an excellent first half defensively and I was very proud of the way we locked in the first half,” Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “Our third quarter defense had some lapses and we ended up trading baskets with College of Idaho. Our team rebounded the ball well and we did a good job blocking out. Both Sitara and Lindsey (Wilson) did an excellent job on the glass and they both did a great job sealing our last line of defense. Ellie Sander continues to be our spark on defense and gets deflections and does so many things that don’t go in the stat sheet.”
The win moves LC State to 18-2 on the season and 14-1 in Cascade Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lindsey Wilson and Ellie Sander put LC up 5-0 early and five straight points by Stevens made it 10-3 at 3:10 in the slow-starting first quarter. Herring and Mataya Green scored back-to-back to end the first 10 minutes with LC up 14-6.
Sander hit a 3 to start the second frame before a layup by Herring had the score at 19-6 a minute in. Buckets by Stevens, Green and Herring kept the difference at 12 before Sander ended the half with a layup to give LC a 29-15 advantage.
Stevens and Byrd went back-to-back in the third quarter to start the Warrior offense, and a 3-pointer by Sander and layup by Sander pushed the lead to 43-24 at the 4:10 mark. Sander and Herring added to the total in the final two minutes to send the Warriors into the final quarter ahead 49-33.
Nelson came out on fire in the fourth frame with nine straight Warrior points to match C of I through the first five minutes. Nelson, Herring and Stevens tallied three straight baskets and Nelson added one more layup to cap the scoring.
Stevens led the contest with 15 points. Sander and Nelson each added 13 and Herring tallied 10. Herring led the defense with her career-high 10 rebounds to match Byrd on the glass. Stevens and Herring each dealt five assists.
“Ella Nelson was so efficient tonight and did a great job attacking the basket,” Orlandi said. “She was poised, confident and did a great job leading when she was on the floor. Darian got us going offensively and having our five spot with five assists is really a special attribute that our offense can bring. She is such a great passer and made great decisions.”
LC State shot 43.8% as a team and won the rebound battle 44-32.
Mia Austin led the Yotes with 15 points and Brooke Beresford notched a double-double with 11 rebounds and 10 points.
UP NEXT
The Warriors host Eastern Oregon on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the P1FCU Activity Center.