LEWISTON, Idaho – Talk about making a first impression.

Freshman guard Jasmine Stohr scored a game-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting – all in the first half – to help the Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team kick off its season with an easy 69-36 win over Warner Pacific College of Portland, Ore., at the LCSCActivityCenter on Thursday night.

Stohr, a three-time Washington State Class 2B High School Player of the Year from Yakima’s LaSalle High, scored 12 of LCSC’s first 16 points in the first six minutes of the game to help the Warriors take control early with a 17-2 run.

The 6-foot Stohr also collected three of LCSC’s 16 steals as the Warriors forced 22 turnovers and held Warner Pacific to just 27.1 percent accuracy from the field.

 “But she didn’t even take a shot in the second half. Jeepers, creepers, what is she doing?” LCSC coach Brian Orr said, laughing. “She really got off to a great start in the first half.”

The setback spoiled the coaching debut of Warner Pacific’s Matt Gregg, who grew up across the Snake River in Clarkston, Wash., and played basketball for two seasons at LCSC.

The Warriors, ranked No. 5 in the NAIA preseason poll, never were threatened in the game. The Knights managed to cut the lead to 11 halfway through the first half at 21-10, but LCSC answered with an 11-4 run as Stohr buried a pair of jumpers and junior point guard Nikki DePeel, who also was one of five players making their Warrior debuts, added a 3-pointer.

LCSC forced 14 turnovers in the first half and held Warner Pacific to just 34.8 percent shooting to take a 37-20 advantage into the locker room.

“I Know it’s a win and with the first game there are a lot of jitters, but it just never felt like we got into a flow,” Orr said. “We are happy with the result, but we also know we can play a lot better. But we didn’t follow our normal substitute rotation because of the injury to Kim (Preston) and we had players not in their usual positions at times.”

Although cleared to play, Preston sat out the game with a quadriceps muscle strain. The senior guard is expected to be in the starting lineup and is one of the team’s best outside shooters.

“In the first half, I thought we settled for jumpers, but in the second half we attacked the basket, which is what I wanted us to do,” Orr said. “I think we only shot one free throw in the first half. We were able to get to the line in the second half.”

Sadie Short, a third-team NAIA All America selection last year, finished with nine points, six assists and five rebounds for LCSC, while DePeel and Nichole Miller had eight points apiece. DePeel also had five assists and four steals.

Lacie Titmus had eight rebounds to help LCSC to a 48-34 rebounding edge. Freshman Alyssa Fierro added seven boards and three blocked shots.

Danica Wilson led Warner Pacific with 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

LCSC returns to action on Saturday when it heads to Boise to face two-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion BoiseStateUniversity in an exhibition game. Tipoff is at noon, PST, at BSU’s Taco Bell Arena. A reception for LCSC alumni and fans will follow at the Ram Restaurant in Boise, and the LCSC coaching staff and players also will be in attendance.

“That game is a revealing game because it will show our strengths and what we need to work on,” Orr said about Saturday’s contest. “We’ve got to be ready for this challenge.”

LCSC’s next regular season contest comes next Friday against BiolaUniversity at 2 p.m. in La Mirada, Calif.