Baker, Morrison pace LCSC women
past George Fox 67-59

12-9-06 

Senior post Ashley Baker scored a season-high 25 points and tournament MVP Aundrea Morrison added 14 as the Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team defeated George Fox 67-59 in the final game of the Wells Fargo FDIC Insured Invitational at the LCSC Activity Center on Saturday. 

LCSC’s inside 1-2 punch of Baker and Morrison was too much for the Bruins as the two combined to go 17-of-29 from the field to help LCSC finish the tournament at 2-0, while George Fox, an NCAA Division III team went 0-2. Earlier Saturday, Montana State-Northern also finished the tournament undefeated by defeating Simon Fraser 82-71. The Clan finished 0-2 on the tournament. 

The Warriors, 10-1 overall and ranked eighth in the NAIA, won or tied for the unofficial title in all four tournaments in played in the season. LCSC went 8-0 in the tournaments that featured pre-determined schedules. No official champion was crowned in those tournaments. 

LCSC overcame a slow start and slow finish to capture the win over George Fox, which fell to 4-3. LCSC trailed 8-4, but ran off the next 11 points to take the lead for good. George Fox didn’t help itself by going scoreless from the field for nearly 10 minutes in the first half, but seven free throws helped it stay in the game and trail 32-19. 

LCSC, which led 37-26 at intermission, saw the lead evaporate to 39-36 before Morrison scored six of LCSC’s next 10 points. Baker then took over and her bucket with less than five minutes left put LCSC ahead 65-48. 

The Warriors, however, would only score two free throws the rest of the game as George Fox rallied to cut the margin to 65-59 on a pair of free throws with 1:14 left. George Fox had a 3-pointer rim out that would have made it a one possession game inside a minute left. 

Morrison, who had 26 points and seven rebounds in a 72-70 win over Simon Fraser on Friday, hit 6-of-12 shots from the field and added five rebounds, three steals and two assists in Saturday’s win. Baker was 11-of-18 from the field and had four rebounds and two assists. Jade Fulbright added eight points and five assists, while Janeen Nelson had seven points. 

Robin Taylor, George Fox’s representative on the All-Tournament team, finished with 21 points and eight rebounds as the Bruins held a 37-33 rebounding edge. Teammate Melissa Marek-Farris added 13 points. 

In the earlier game, Montana State-Northern improved to 10-4 overall with an impressive showing against a strong Simon Fraser team, which slipped to 14-3. 

Becky Sorenson led four MSU-Northern players in double figures with 18 points, while Jenna Heggem had 16, Michelle Van Dyke 15 and seven rebounds, and DeLayne Johnston had 14 points and eight rebounds. Simon Fraser’s Kathyrn Hole had her second straight double-double of the tournament with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Lisa Tindle led the Clan with 17 points. 

Joining Morrison, Baker and Taylor on the All-Tournament team where Johnston and Heggem of MSU-Northern and Hole from Simon Fraser. 

The Warrior women return to action on Dec. 20 against Fraser Valley of Canada at 6 p.m. at the Activity Center.

(Tournament winning Warriors shown here with, Gina Rinehart, of Wells Fargo Bank)