| LEWISTON, ID – During post-game talks on Tuesday the Warriors talked about improving their defense for Wednesday’s contest, and did they ever. The No. 10 LC State Women’s Basketball team defended its home court in commanding fashion with a 67-50 victory over (RV) Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) to advance to the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship’s Round of 16.
The Warriors held RMC to just .270 from the field, the fourth-lowest shooting percentage of an LC opponent this season, and tallied 12 steals to punch their ticket to Sioux City, Iowa. The Warrior offense got the job done with a .419 field goal percentage.
“I am extremely proud of the way our girls came out and defended tonight,” Associate Head Coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “We had great energy, played passing lanes and battled on the boards all night long. Rocky is a great passing team with good players, and to hold them to 27 percent from the floor shows just how hard these girls worked for 40 minutes, every possession.”
Hannah Broyles, the games’ leading scorer, opened play with a 3-pointer on an assist by Maddie Holm. Buckets by Sara Muehlhausen and Callie Stevens kept LC in front 7-6, but RMC answered with a jumper.
Broyles put LC back in front with a pair of free throws at the midway mark of the quarter and the Warriors never looked back. Back-to-back baskets by Broyles and Lindsey Wilson pushed the margin to five, 13-8, a minute later. A triple by Broyles and free throw by Adyson Clabby had LC State up 17-11 after 10 minutes.
The scoring run continued with two straight tallies by Sitara Byrd. A 3 by Stevens and layup by Ellie Sander doubled up RMC with a 26-13 score by 3:57, and the Warriors took a 31-19 lead into the break after another 3 by Broyles and free throws by Sander.
LC State kept its foot on the gas in the second half with seven straight combined points from Broyles and Stevens. A triple by Broyles and layup by Wilson gave the Warriors a 45-29 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Freshmen Wilson and Byrd tallied back-to-back buckets to start the last 10 minutes and push the lead over 20, 50-29. Wilson sparked a run of 13 points with contributions from Sander, Broyles, Byrd and Payton Hymas to give LC a 67-45 cushion before the game closed out 67-50.
Broyles led the contest with 21 points on a 5-for-8 night from 3-point range. She grabbed a team-best five steals. Stevens added 13 points and Byrd scored a career-high 12. Holm made her contribution on defense with 12 rebounds to go with a team-high four assists.
“As a senior it is a very special thing to have your last home game be a win,” Orlandi said. “Hannah has been playing tremendously and has gotten us started all season long. Sara is our anchor on defense and Adyson has been consistent for us every day.”
UP NEXT
The Warrior women head to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa, and will face No. 7 Clarke (Iowa). The Round of 16 contest is slated for March 13 at 6 p.m. PT. A full preview of the matchup will be available on Sunday.
“This team battles every day at practice and they practice with tremendous competitive spirit,” Orlandi added. “I love to see all of their hard work paying off and we are looking forward to going to Iowa.”
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
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