BILLINGS, Mont. – An 11-2 run to open the second half and a season-high 30 points from Jasmine Stohr brought the Warriors back from an eight-point deficit at halftime, however, the Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team ended up falling to Rocky Mountain College 69-63 on Thursday.
LCSC was down by as much as 13 points in the first half and trailed the Battlin’ Bears 38-30 at the game’s midway point before storming back to gain a 54-48 advantage 11 minutes into the second half. The game was then tied at 56-56 with 5:48 on the clock before 6-foot-4 senior Janie Rayback converted a non-traditional three-point play to return the lead to Rocky Mountain. In the closing minutes, the Bears, led by Rayback, continued to pound the ball inside and used points in the paint and points at the foul line to stay ahead of the Warriors.
Rayback, for the second time this season, proved to be hard for the Warrior defenders to handle as she led RMC with 25 points. She also had a team-high 22 points in LCSC’s 81-74 non-conference win over Rocky Mountain earlier this season.
Currently ranked No. 17 in the NAIA, LCSC falls to 3-2 in the Frontier Conference and 13-4 overall, while the unranked Bears improve to 3-1 and 9-10.
Currently ranked No. 17 in the NAIA, LCSC falls to 3-2 in the Frontier Conference and 13-4 overall, while the unranked Bears improve to 3-1 and 9-10.
Stohr, a 6-foot freshman, shot 13-for-15 from the field and 4-for-5 from 3-point territory to score the most points by any Warrior so far this season. Sadie Short was the only other Warrior to score in double-digits as she finished the game with 10 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds. Kirsi Voshell also added five rebounds.
Rayback had seven rebounds to go with her point total, while teammate Liz Lewis had 10 points, five assists, and five steals.
In only six attempts in the game (all in the first half), LCSC scored four points at the free throw line, while RMC went 12-for-17 at the line.
Uncharacteristically, the Warriors did not protect the ball well as they committed 22 turnovers, while forcing Rocky to turn the ball over 18 times. Consequently, the Bears outscored LCSC 21-13 in points scored of off turnovers—with 16 of those points coming in the first half.
Rocky Mountain also outscored LCSC 32-18 in the paint and had a 38-36 rebounding advantage.
The Warriors now travel to Helena, Mont. to take on Carroll College on Saturday at 5 p.m. Carroll lost to Rocky Mountain 62-49 last week, and fell to No. 21 ranked Westminster 83-59 on Thursday night.
