Warriors see mixed results; Women gradually pull away from Oregon Tech,
58-51
Copyright of The Lewiston
Morning Tribune
MATT BANEY of the Tribune
When Oregon Tech post Ashley DuBrey fouled out with 13 1/2
minutes remaining, Lewis-Clark State's already noticeable height advantage
increased. At that moment, there were 21 inches more of Warriors than Owls
on the floor.
But capitalizing on such an edge isn't necessarily simple. Down the
stretch, the Warriors got some hard-earned production from the paint
players, but their perimeter game was just as vital.
L-C squeezed by OIT 58-51 on Friday night at Warrior Gym in the opener of
a two-day nonconference women's basketball series. These teams will play
again this afternoon at 4.
The Owls, who were opening their season, made this trip without two
players -- 6-foot-4 Katie Fuller and 5-10 Marcie Mitzner -- who are on the
school's volleyball team. And not long after DuBrey picked up her fifth
foul, 5-9 Amanda Doherty also fouled out.
Yet it was L-C point guard Nikki Haerling who kicked off the game-icing
push. She canned a 3-pointer with 4:19 left that was part of a 13-1 run.
Later, Terri Wittmer buried a jumper and Haerling went coast-to-coast for a
layup to make it 54-43.
And those baskets had nothing to do with the Warriors' skyscrapers. With
a clogging zone defense, the undersized Owls did a decent job of choking off
LCSC's low-post opportunities.
"Even when they have a mismatch, it's one of those things where they
still have to make a tough pass into the post," OIT coach Tom Loney said.
"... You want to make them work as hard as you are."
Actually, LCSC post Ashley Baker's greatest success came against the
taller Owls. With DuBrey guarding her, the 6-foot-3 sophomore came up with
seven consecutive points to give the Warriors a 41-33 lead with 12:51
remaining.
"We did a great job of getting the ball inside," said L-C coach Brian
Orr, whose team improved to 3-0. "Now all of a sudden (after the foul-outs),
there are three players around her. So every time we throw it in, it's kind
of a risky pass because she is getting swarmed with so many players."
Baker ended up with 16 points and 15 rebounds while Haerling notched a
team-high 18 points.
OIT led most of the first half, getting up by as much as seven points.
But late in the period, LCSC rallied with three baskets from Kendra West.
Then Katya Yancheva connected on a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer
to give the Warriors a 32-31 edge.
But neither team established a rhythm in this game. They combined to
shoot 36-for-107 and spilled away 43 turnovers.
Yet for L-C, it was certainly an improvement over their blowout
exhibition loss to Gonzaga last week.
"I know this: I think we've got good basketball players and I know we've
got good character on our team," Orr said. "This team is just going to get
better and better."
NOTES -- Junior Cami Kalbfleisch, LCSC's leading scorer last year, saw
her first action of the season. She came off the bench, played seven minutes
and tallied two points and two rebounds. Kalbfleisch, who sat out the last
eight weeks with a knee injury, only returned to practice Monday. "She's
definitely somebody that we're expecting great things from," Orr said. "I
would expect her to play more minutes tomorrow."
OREGON TECH (0-1)
Doherty 0-5 1-2 1, McElligott 3-11 1-2 8, DuBrey 3-4 0-0 6, Gilbert 5-10
0-1 11, Carmichael 3-9 0-0 8, Mitzner 0-0 0-0 0, Haylett 3-8 1-1 9, Ivancie
0-3 0-0 0, Gugel 3-6 2-3 8, Leppert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 5-9 51.
LEWIS-CLARK STATE (3-0)
Yancheva 1-5 2-4 5, K. West 4-9 1-1 9, Baker 4-12 8-11 16, Haerling 4-11
7-10 18, Fulbright 1-2 0-0 2, Hart 0-1 0-0 0, Wittmer 1-3 0-0 2, V. West 0-1
2-2 2, Kalbfleisch 0-3 2-2 2, Jackson 1-3 0-1 2, McCauley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals
16-51 22-31 58.
Halftime score -- LCSC 32, OIT 31. Three-point goals -- OIT 6-22 (Doherty
0-3, McElligott 1-4, Gilbert 1-5, Carmichael 2-5, Haylett 2-4, Ivancie 0-1);
LCSC 4-16 (Yancheva 1-2, K. West 0-2, Haerling 3-7, Hart 0-1, Wittmer 0-1,
Kalbfleisch 0-3). Total fouls -- OIT 28; LCSC 14. Fouled out -- Doherty,
DuBrey, McElligott. Technical fouls -- none. Rebounds -- OIT 34 (three with
6); LCSC 48 (Baker 15). Assists -- OIT 6 (Carmichael 3); LCSC 5 (five with
1).
