Warriors find their stroke; L-C rediscovers shooting touch, rips William Jessup in American West tourney
Copyright of The Lewiston Morning Tribune

By MATT BANEY
OF THE TRIBUNE

The right hand that is the key mechanism in Terri Wittmer's peppy jump shot is also her occasional nemesis. Since breaking the hand six years ago, she has needed four surgeries to correct nerve damage -- including one this offseason.

Wittmer is still recovering from that procedure, but it didn't stop her from tossing in a career-high 14 points Friday night. The Lewis-Clark State women blasted William Jessup of California 90-46 in the first round of the American West Bank Tournament at Warrior Gym.

For a team that has recently struggled with its shooting stroke, L-C craved a game like this. The Warriors, 8-4, reeled off the first 20 points of the game, holding William Jessup scoreless until Taryn White's paint jumper with 12:38 left in the half. The margin was never less than 18 points the rest of the way.

LCSC shot 49.3 percent from the floor, including a 12-for-23 mark from 3-point range. Six players reached double figures in points.

"It felt good," L-C coach Brian Orr said. "When the ball is going through the hole, everything seems to be working. Life is better."

For Wittmer, this was the peak of a roller coaster week. In a practice session early in the week, she connected on 11 straight 3-pointers. But the 5-foot-6 sophomore felt soreness in her hand and went for X-rays. They came back negative and, with her hand heavily taped, she played 21 minutes.

After burying 4 of 6 triples, Wittmer said her hand did ache. But "I'm just happy that I can still play," she said. "There was a chance before the surgery that I wouldn't be able to play again."

"Terri came in a couple games last year and made some big plays for us," Orr said. "But I think from beginning to end, this was definitely her best."

LCSC also got 10 points and nine rebounds from Leah McCauley and 12 points from Katya Yancheva -- both of whom came of the bench. Kendra West (12 points), Cami Kalbfleisch (11) and Jade Fulbright (10) rounded out the top scorers.

Although they were clearly outgunned, the visitors -- who are also nicknamed the Warriors -- are an interesting bunch. William Jessup's first-year coach is Ruthie Bolton, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who still plays for the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs. (This is the league's offseason.)

Bolton's team wore uniforms that said "San Jose Christian," which was the school's name before it moved to a larger campus in Rocklin, Calif., over the summer. The "William Jessup" jerseys have yet to arrive.

"We played a great team," Bolton said. "They did everything they wanted to do; we didn't disrupt anything. We knew they were a great team."

In today's session, Carroll and William Jessup will play at 4 p.m. followed by LCSC and Whitman at 6.

WILLIAM JESSUP (1-7)

Mabray 2-3 4-5 8, White 5-9 2-2 12, Ballard 1-12 0-0 2, Thomas 2-11 0-0 4, Arakeri 0-2 0-0 0, Samoa 2-7 3-4 7, Rico 4-9 5-6 13, Jessup 0-2 0-0 0, Chiboucas 0-1 0-0 0, Near 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-57 14-17 46.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (8-4)

Kalbfleisch 4-7 0-0 11, K. West 5-9 2-2 12, Baker 3-5 2-7 8, Haerling 2-7 0-0 5, Fulbright 5-9 0-0 10, Hart 2-3 1-3 5, Wittmer 5-10 0-0 14, Yancheva 4-7 0-2 12, V. West 0-4 3-4 3, McCauley 4-8 2-2 10. Totals 34-69 10-20 90.

Halftime score -- LCSC 44, William Jessup 17. Three-point goals -- WJ 0-11 (Ballard 0-1, Thomas 0-4, Arakeri 0-2, Samoa 0-3, Chiboucas 0-1); LCSC 12-23 (Kalbfleisch 3-6, Haerling 1-4, Wittmer 4-6, Yancheva 4-5, V. West 0-2). Rebounds -- WJ 31 (White 6); LCSC 49 (Baker, McCauley 9). Assists -- WJ 5 (five with 1); LCSC 25 (Haerling, Hart 7). Total fouls -- WJ 16; LCSC 17. Technical fouls -- none. Fouled out -- White.