Warrior women set two records in 117-37 victory

 12-29-06 

The Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team shot lights out from the start and set two program records in rolling past Bethany University 117-37 in a nonconference contest at the LCSC Activity Center on Friday night. 

LCSC, 13-1 and ranked No. 8 in the NAIA Division I polls, established records for most points in a game and largest margin of victory. The previous marks were 111 points against Westminster on Jan. 13, 2000 in Warrior Gym, and a 75-point victory (108-33) over Johnson & Wales last season. 

The Warriors shot 61 percent from the field in the first half and finished at just below 60 percent for the game (43-of-72). Included in that total was a 13-of-26 effort (50 percent) at the 3-point line. 

Bethany, an NAIA Division school from Santa Cruz, Calif., fell behind 25-5 early and never could recover. The Bruins, 1-10 overall, trailed 62-17 at halftime. 

The Warriors put five players in double figures, led by hot-shooting senior guard Janeen Nelson, who finished with 22 points. Nelson was 8-of-11 from the field, including 6-of-8 at the 3-point line. Ashley Baker, the Frontier Conference’s Player of the Week, added 21 points and seven rebounds, while Katya Yancheva and Vanessa West added 15 points apiece. Aundrea Morrison chipped in 14. 

All the Warriors had impressive stats as Katie Hart and Madison Mendezona added seven assists apiece, while Mandy Troutt grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Mendezona and Terri Wittmer had four steals apiece. 

The Warriors had a 47-29 rebounding advantage and had assists on 31 of their 43 baskets. 

Defensively, LCSC forced 36 turnovers, including 23 on steals, and held the Bruins to just 14-of-56 shooting from the field, 25 percent. Every Bruin but one had at least one turnover in the game. 

Hailey Stopperan led the Bruins with eight points. 

The two teams meet again on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the LCSC Activity Center.