Warrior women complete sweep of Owls
Copyright of The Lewiston Morning Tribune

By JOSH WRIGHT of the Tribune

Whether Oregon Tech was struggling more than usual or this is the kind of drag-it-out affair it prefers to play is anybody's guess at this early point in the season.

But after the Owls' respectable comeback came up short, a strange thing seemed obvious: OIT probably shouldn't have had to make a late charge in the first place.

Lewis-Clark State overcame a chilly shooting performance to nudge the Owls 65-54 in a nonconference women's basketball game at Warrior Gym on Saturday.

The Warriors shot 27 percent from the field and didn't make a single 3-pointer in the second half. But somehow they held off OIT.

"We showed a great team resolve in the tough times," L-C coach Brian Orr said. "We were struggling shooting the ball, but we were taking care of the ball."

After being up by as much as 12 points in the second half, the Warriors (4-0) saw OIT slowly chip away at their lead. The closest the Owls came was three points from tying the game.

Actually, they were within one possession twice, but L-C answered back quickly both times.

The Warriors seemed to find a nice combo during the game's key stretch. Because of Nikki Haerling's sterling guard play and several key baskets from 6-foot-3 post Ashley Baker, OIT could never grab all the momentum.

"They have big physical kids who we couldn't match up on," Owls coach Tom Loney said. "Haerling's quickness and shooting was tough, and we had nobody to match up with Baker."

Though OIT post Nikki McElligott did her best to negate Baker's presence, the skinny 6-2 senior just didn't have the girth to fully slow her down.

Of Baker's 18 points, six came down the stretch -- all on post-up moves on the low block.

The Owls were helped by a 12-for-13 shooting performance from the free-throw line. But the Warriors went to the stripe almost three times as much. They made 25 of 34.

"We got to the foul line -- that was a big key," Orr said. "We were pretty persistent."

OREGON TECH (0-2)

Doherty 1-5 5-5 7, McElligott 6-16 3-4 16, DuBrey 2-6 0-0 4, Gilbert 4-8 0-0 9, Carmichael 1-10 0-0 2, Haylett 2-5 2-2 8, Ivancie 3-8 2-2 8, Gugel 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-61 12-13 54.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (4-0)

Yancheva 0-1 0-0 0, K. West 1-4 2-2 4, Baker 8-18 2-7 18, Haerling 2-8 13-14 17, Fulbright 1-8 0-0 3, Hart 1-3 1-2 3, Wittmer 0-5 3-4 3, Boggs 0-0 0-0 0, V. West 1-5 2-2 4, Kalbfleisch 3-8 2-2 11, Jackson 0-2 0-0 0, McCauley 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 18-67 25-34 65.

Halftime score -- LCSC 30, OIT 23. Three-point goal -- OIT 4-15 (Doherty 0-3, McElligott 1-6, Gilbert 1-1, Carmichael 0-3, Haylett 2-2); LCSC 4-20 (Yancheva 0-1, K. West 0-1, Haerling 0-5, Fulbright 1-3, Wittmer 0-2, V. West 0-2, Kalbfleisch 3-6). Total fouls -- OIT 24; LCSC 18. Fouled out -- McElligott. Technical fouls -- none. Rebounds -- OIT 44 (three tied with 7); LCSC 51 (Baker, McCauley 9). Assists -- OIT 8 (McElligott 3); LCSC 9 (Hart 4).