LEWISTON – The fourth-seeded LC State Women’s Basketball team capitalized on a 47-19 second half to overcome a slow start in the 2024 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship First Round, presented by Ballogy. The Warriors defeated Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 85-56 to advance to the second round of the tournament and will face Jamestown (N.D.) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the P1FCU Activity Center.
“First, I would like to give credit to Brewton-Parker,” Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “All 64 teams that are competing in the NAIA National Tournament right now are battling hard for one more game. They came with great energy and were knocking down shots. I would like to congratulate them on their team’s hard work this season.”
The Warriors held BPC to just four points in the third quarter on 1-for-15 shooting. LC State dominated the boards 53-39. Callie Stevens led LC with 17 points and four assists and Sitara Byrd had 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
“Our defensive effort the second half was truly tremendous,” Orlandi said. “We came out in that second half on a mission to defend and I was so very proud of the adjustments they made to get it done. All week we have been talking about securing our last line of defense and taking care of the basketball; we did both of those this game.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
BPC led 23-16 after a back-and-forth first quarter. A triple by Ellie Sander was the first basket of the game for LC State, and Stevens added two 3s after a jumper by Lindsey Wilson to give the Warriors an 11-5 lead at 6:39. The Barons rallied to take a 17-16 lead at 2:32 and capped the nine-point run in the final minute of the opening frame.
A layup by Darian Herring and 3-pointer by Stevens got the LC State offense going in the second quarter to cut the margin to two, 23-21, a minute in. A burst by BPC pushed the deficit to 27-21 and pushed its lead to 37-30 with 1:47 to play in the half.
LC State hit the gas from that point on. The Warriors mounted an eight-point rally to regain the lead before the break.
Green dropped in a layup to start the run a 1:22 and Stevens added an and-one play. Byrd gave the Warriors the lead for the rest of the contest with a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final eight seconds of the period. LC State took a 38-37 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The scoring run was capped at 14 with six LC State points to open the third quarter. Tallies from Wilson, Stevens and Byrd had the Warrior lead at 44-37 90 seconds in the frame. BPC scored its lone basket of the third at 8:02 and LC State rattled off seven points before two Baron free throws. Back-to-back triples by Stevens and Tatum Brager started a 12-point run that ended the period with the Warriors in front 63-41.
The scoring stretch carried over into the fourth quarter and ended at 18 straight LC State points. A layup by Brager pushed the advantage to 30 points, 74-44, at 5:51, before another bucket by the freshman gave the Warrior women their largest lead of the game. The final LC State basket made it 85-53 for a 32-point difference with 1:54 to play. BPC scored once more for the 85-56 final.
Stevens led LC State with 17 points, Wilson added 14, Sander scored 11 and Herring notched a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double. Byrd led the defense with 12 rebounds and three steals. Both Stevens and Byrd dished out four assists.
“I can’t express how important every players minutes were tonight,” Orlandi explained. “Callie Stevens did a fantastic job the first half scoring the basketball, Sitara rebounded the ball like crazy, Darian was tough on both ends of the floor with her double-double and Tatum came ready to play tonight with the upmost confidence.
“Lindsey battled tough inside and posted the block so well, Mataya brings so much energy defensively, Ella (Nelson) comes in and makes an immediate impact, Camden (Barger) handled the ball at the point with so much poise, Ellie was fantastic on defense, and Grace (Beardin) continues to grow every single day and battles so hard,” Orlandi added.
The Warriors shot 44.7% from the floor including 55% in the third quarter. The team’s 53 rebounds are a season-high.
“I look forward to tomorrow and carrying our energy into the game,” Orlandi said. “This is such an exciting time of the year and I am so proud of all this team continues to do. This Warrior team is tough and they work so very hard.”
UP NEXT
The Warriors host Jamestown (N.D.) in the second round of the NAIA Women’s National Basketball Championship Tournament at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. UJ defeated The Master’s (Calif.) to advance.
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