Defense helps LCSC roll past Bethany 82-41

 12-30-06 

After making a statement with a record-setting performance on offense, the Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team put on an impressive defensive show in defeating Bethany University for the second time in two days, this time 82-41 on Saturday at the LCSC Activity Center. 

The Warriors, 14-1 overall  and ranked No.8 in the NAIA, held the California visitors to just 29 percent shooting from the field, forced 25 turnovers and held a 51-31 rebounding advantage to claim their sixth straight win. 

On Friday, the Warriors defeated Bethany, an NAIA Division II school, 117-37 and set school records for most points and largest margin of victory. 

In Saturday’s contest, the Warriors scored the first 13 points as Bethany needed nearly eight minutes to score its first points.  Holding the Bruins to just 22.7 percent shooting accuracy from the floor, LCSC raced out to a 37-12 halftime lead and cruised from there. 

LCSC, which shot nearly 60 percent from the field in Friday’s contest, cooled off some Saturday and was 31-of-69 from the field, 44.9 percent, and just 5-of-20 from the 3-point line, 25 percent. 

The Warriors again used a balanced attack with five players scoring between 10 and 12 points. The team’s three posts – Ashley Baker, Aundrea Morrison, and Mandy Troutt – all finished with 12 points, while Jade Fulbright had 11 and Katya Yancheva 10. Janeen Nelson added eight points. 

Baker was the game’s leading rebounder with eight, whiule Yancheva added seven, while Morrison, Vanessa West and Troutt finished with six each. 

All 11 Warriors scored in the game, 10 had at least one rebound, and nine had at least one assist. Katie Hart led the way with five assists, while Nelson, Fulbright and West each had three steals. As a team, LCSC had 16 steals. 

Vanessa Irving led the Bruins, now 1-11 overall, with 13 points and seven rebounds. Bethany hit 16-of-55 shots from the field for 29.1 percent, and were 3-of-11 at the 3-point line.  For the two games, the Bruins finished with 61 turnovers and made 30 of 111 shots from the field, 27 percent. They also were outscored by a total of 121 points in the two contests. 

LCSC is now finished with the nonconference portion of its schedule. The Warriors open Frontier Conference play next Saturday at home against Westminster at 6 p.m.