Unveiled with victories; L-C women open new arena with 80-63 upset of 19th-ranked Carroll
Copyright of The Lewiston Morning Tribune

By the end of the first half of the first game in the Activity Center, the Lewis-Clark State women's basketball team was already soaking up the benefits of its new home. The electric atmosphere of the arena seemed to dull the normally accurate shooting touch of 19th-ranked Carroll College.

The Saints recovered in the second half -- and even made the Warriors sweat. But the near-capacity crowd of 3,300 got what it wanted: an 80-63 LCSC win in its Frontier Conference opener Thursday night.

Considering the distractions that tugged at them until tipoff, the Warriors performed remarkably well. LCSC President Dene Thomas and Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne were among the pregame speakers, and both the national anthem and "God Bless America" were played.

The game didn't start until 6:21 p.m. -- 16 minutes later than advertised.

"It never stopped, all the way to the very end," L-C coach Brian Orr said of the hoopla. "Of course, we expected this part. We're honored to go through the celebration ...

"The great thing about it for us: Athletics is about handling distractions, especially in a big game," he added. "Hey, this will prepare us for any distractions we have."

After a few frazzled moments, the Warriors closed the first half on a roll. They registered a 19-5 run over the last 11 minutes, building a 34-19 lead.

Carroll, which achieved its ranking with a potent transition game and 3-point marksmanship, got neither Thursday. The Saints (13-5) shot 15.6 percent from the floor in the first half, including a 1-for-6 mark from behind the arc.

L-C (12-5) continued to soar after the break. With a solo 7-0 burst by Nikki Haerling -- the junior transfer banked in a jumper, slipped in a layup and planted a 3-pointer -- the Warriors led 47-24 with 16:03 left.

The lead grew to 26 points before Carroll authored a charge. The Saints made most of their capital at the foul line, converting 14 of 16 tries over the last 11 minutes. They trimmed to within 10 points at one juncture.

But L-C made a final push, beginning with Ashley Baker's turnaround with 1:57 remaining. Jade Fulbright and Katie Hart then combined to make six free throws.

Baker, a 6-foot-3 sophomore post, pumped in 20 points against the smallish Saints. She also collared 12 rebounds.

"Ashley did an awesome job inside tonight for us," said Haerling, who added 12 points and four assists. "She's unstoppable. I'm glad she's on my team."

So it was an all-around successful evening for the Warriors -- they won their conference opener and christened the Activity Center in style. Of course, those things might have been related.

"I don't think we really were tense," Haerling said. "I think it was more pumped up and excited more than anything, because Carroll is a big rival. And to be able to have an opener in a brand-new facility, it's pretty cool."

CARROLL COLLEGE (13-5, 0-1)

Woody 1-8 7-12 12, Bromiley 1-3 0-0 2, High 4-10 2-2 13, Hall 5-19 9-10 21, Syverson 1-2 2-2 2, Shaw 0-0 0-0 0, Jenson 0-1 0-0 0, Priddy 0-3 2-3 2, Fuzesy 3-10 0-0 7, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Tomco 1-3 0-0 2, Rogers 0-0 0-0 0, Forney 0-0 2-3 2. Totals 16-59 24-32 63.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (12-5, 1-0)

Kalbfleisch 3-5 0-0 7, West 2-7 0-1 5, Baker 9-18 2-5 20, Haerling 5-13 1-1 12, Fulbright 1-2 4-4 6, Hart 3-7 2-2 -8, Wittmer 2-4 0-0 4, Yancheva 1-3 0-0 3, Boggs 0-0 0-0 0, West 2-6 4-4 9, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, McCauley 3-7 0-0 6. Totals 31-72 13-17 80.

Halftime score -- Lewis-Clark State 34, Carroll 19. Three-point goals -- Carroll 7-24 (Woody 1-1, High 3-5, Hall 2-11, Shaw 0-1, Fuzesy 1-6), L-C 5-13 (Kalbfleisch 1-1, West 1-3, Haerling 1-4, Wittmer 0-2, Yancheva 1-2, West 1-1). Rebounds -- Carroll 42 (Woody 12), L-C 49 (Baker 12). Assists -- Carroll 6 (Syverson 2), L-C 16 (Hart 5). Total fouls -- Carroll 20, L-C 28. Fouled out -- Haerling. Technical fouls -- none. Att -- 3,300.