Copyright Lewiston Tribune, Jan. 28, 2007

Warriors claim 'sobering win'; L-C women subdue No. 13 Carroll in OT but possibly lose Morrison

 1-28-07 

HELENA, Mont. -- The Lewis-Clark State women blasted away an 18-point deficit, performed with poise in overtime and extended their winning streak to 13 games.

But their coach still had reason to call this a "sobering win."

The second-ranked Warriors completed a perfect first half of the Frontier Conference season, leaning by No. 13 Carroll 82-77 on Saturday night.

L-C improved to 21-1 overall and 7-0 in the FC. It now has a 1 1/2-game lead in the conference standings.

Aundrea Morrison once again provided steady play down the stretch, hitting 3 of 4 free throws in overtime.

But with 17 seconds left in the extra session, a foul sent Morrison tumbling to the court with an apparent right knee injury. The 6-foot senior post ended the evening with a brace on her leg.

LCSC coach Brian Orr said he wasn't sure what the injury is or if it will sideline Morrison, who was an honorable mention on the NAIA All-America team last year.

"It doesn't look good," Orr said. "It's a knee ... and it just doesn't look good."

Until Morrison went down, this looked like one of the Warriors' brightest moments this season. After trailing by 14 at halftime, they used a number of defensive looks -- a matchup zone, a halfcourt trap, man-to-man -- to stifle the Saints' potent attack and slowly rally.

Finally, a 3-point from Janeen Nelson with two minutes left gave L-C its first lead of the second half.

Carroll's Jolene Fuzesy answered with her own triple, which tied things with a minute left. L-C's Jade Fulbright then missed a 15-foot shot at the buzzer that would have won it.

But Fulbright, who notched a game-high 20 points, was solid in overtime. She hit a layup and a 3-pointer within the first 90 seconds to give the Warriors the lead for good. "She played like she was possessed," Orr said.

Katya Yancheva sealed the win with a 3-for-4 showing at the line in the final seconds. Two of those foul shots came as Morrison's injury replacement.

"We wanted to win the game," Orr said, "but I wanted to see how we were going to respond, being down to a good team on the road."

Morrison finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Ashley Baker, who fouled out during regulation, notched 13 points.

Orr said Morrison's injury will be examined in Lewiston.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (21-1, 7-0)

Troutt 3-6 2-3 8, Hart 3-7 0-1 6, Wittmer 0-0 0-0 0, Baker 6-13 1-1 13, Preston 0-0 0-0 0, Yancheva 1-4 3-4 6, Nelson 3-7 1-2 9, West 0-1 0-0 0, Fulbright 7-12 5-5 20, Mendezona 1-2 0-0 3, Morrison 4-13 8-10 17. Totals 28-65 20-26 82.

CARROLL (21-2, 5-2)

Bruursema 2-6 0-0 5, High 5-9 4-4 17, Courchaine 3-7 2-2 9, Schmitz 1-5 2-2 4, Fuzesy 3-7 2-2 11, Leibach 0-0 1-2 1, Forney 1-2 0-0 2, Brooks 7-13 6-11 20, Heidenreich 2-4 4-4 8, Bosley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-54 21-27 77.

Halftime score -- Carroll 42, LCSC 28. Three-point goals -- LCSC 6-12 (Yancheva 1-3, Nelson 2-5 Fulbright 1-1, Mendezona 1-2, Morrison 1-1), Carroll 8-20 (Bruursema 1-5, High 3-5, Courchaine 1-2, Schmitz 0-2, Fuzesy 3-6). Rebounds -- LCSC 34 (Morrison 10), Carroll 27 (Brooks 9). Assists -- LCSC 10 (Nelson 4), Carroll 13 (Courchaine 4). Totals fouls -- LCSC 22, Carroll 21. Fouled out -- Baker, Forney, Brooks. Technical fouls -- none. A -- 2411.