LEWISTON, Idaho – The Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball shot 50 percent from the field and enjoyed a dominant performance by Kirsi Voshell to handily take down another Frontier Conference foe on Thursday night. Backed by the 15 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks of Voshell, the Warriors defeated Rocky Mountain College 81-60 in front of a season-high crowd of 1,075.
The win makes the Warriors 18-3 overall and 4-1 in the conference, and lifts them past Rocky Mountain and into second place in the conference standings. The Battlin’ Bears now stand in third place at 5-12 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
Voshell’s defending and Jasmine Stohr’s shooting highlighted the Warriors’ strong team effort in the first half. In the first five minutes of play Stohr hit two 3-points, Nikki DePeel hit one, and Kirsi Voshell came up with two blocks to help the NAIA’s 12th-ranked team roar to a 17-2 lead.
The Warriors continued a torrid pace and finished the first half with a 53.3 percent shooting mark, compared to a 17.2 percent clip for the Bears, and a 40-20 advantage. Stohr went 2-of-3 from 3-point territory to lead the half with 10 points, and Nichole Miller helped the Warriors outscore their opponent 18-4 in the paint by scoring eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Miller finished the game with 12 points and six rebounds, while Stohr and Alyssa Fierro both ended up with 10 points apiece. Stohr also had six rebounds.
After blocking four shots in the first half, Voshell scored 10 points in the second half to keep LC’s offense rolling and out of reach of the Bears who were starting to find an offensive rhythm.
Led by Molly Schenderline who had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Rocky Mountain shot 45.5 percent in the second half including a 5-of-11 mark from long range. The Bears also were helped by a strong effort on the inside by Adrienne Green who banked her way to 15 points, but still were unable to get out of a double-digit deficit.
LCSC had 19 turnovers in the game, but was able to force the Bears into 24 miscues and turn those mistakes into 24 points. Rocky shot 32.3 percent overall and scored 13 points off of Warrior turnovers.
Thanks to five assists apiece from Stohr and Kenna Reiter, four apiece from Nikki DePeel and Madison Mendezona, and three from Lauren Daling, Lewis-Clark State ended up with a season-high 23 assists in the game.
Trailing only Fierro in the Frontier Conference, who is ranked No. 10 in the NAIA with an average of 1.8 blocks per game, Voshell came into the game ranked No. 15 and averaging 1.79 blocks per game. LCSC’s inside duo have helped the Warriors average 5.5 blocks a night, which is the sixth most in the nation.
The Warriors will be back in the Activity Center on Saturday to face Carroll College at 6 p.m. Carroll is currently 10-9 overall and 1-3 in conference play after falling to Westminster 80-51 on Thursday. Saturday is $1 Night and will feature $1 admission, $1 for popcorn, and $1 for soda.
