Defense pushes Warriors over Great Falls

1-10-08

LEWISTON, Idaho – Forcing 26 turnovers, the Lewis-Clark State College women's basketball team defense kept the University of Great Falls on edge and led the Warriors to a 70-39 win on Thursday evening. LCSC was able to hold Great Falls to only 47 shot attempts, of which the Argos made only 13. 

With its second straight conference win, Lewis-Clark State continues to hold the lead in the Frontier Conference with a 13-3 overall record and a 2-0 mark in the conference. Great Falls drops to 8-9 on the season and 1-2 in the conference.  

Aggressive defense and poor shooting highlighted a first-half that ended with LCSC up 29-19. The Warriors forced 12 Argos’ turnovers and committed only 3 turnovers of their own; however, UGF was able to hit 31 percent of its shots in the energetic first half, while LCSC hit 30 percent.

During the second half, LCSC once again was on the better side of the turnover ratio as it forced 14 turnovers while only giving the ball away four times. LCSC also saw a seven-percent improvement over the first-half shooting percentage, while UGF dropped seven-percent.   

If the Argos’ strategy was to force LCSC out of its comfort zone of sharing the ball and utilizing its bench as a major advantage, their attempt fell far short. Every player on the Warriors’ roster scored at least one point, and every player but one recorded at least one rebound.  

Sadie Short’s 11 points led the Warriors, and her seven rebounds shared the team lead with Vanessa West’s seven. Mandy Troutt added 10 points and four rebounds, and Lacie Titmus finished with eight points and five rebounds. Katie Hart had seven points, four rebounds, three steals, and three assists, and Breianna Gaines and Kim Preston both scored eight. 

Jocelyn Moore was the only member of the Argos to score in double digits as she ended the game with a double-double recording 17 points and 13 rebounds.  

The Warriors next face Montana State-Northern on Saturday, January 12, at 6 p.m. inside the Activity Center. Montana State-Northern is currently 11-6 on the season and, after losing to Westminster 60-45 on Thursday, 1-2 in conference play.