LA MIRADA, Calif. – The Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball came out on the right side of a battle between two NAIA top 10 teams at the Biola University 2010 Holiday Classic on Tuesday. The No. 3-ranked Warriors defeated No. 8 Azusa Pacific University 72-62.
Though a 15-5 run by Azusa Pacific in the final two and a half minutes narrowed the margin of victory, Lewis-Clark State had complete control of the basketball game. The Warriors outshot the cougars 44.7 to 36.7 percent and outrebounded them 46-29.
Paced by 19 points from Jasmine Stohr, fantastic 3-point shooting from Tasha Bishop, and stifling defense, the Warriors led by as many 20 points in the second half en route to improving their overall record to 12-1. The loss brings the Cougars to 9-3.
The Warriors, coming off of their first loss of the season, seemed to have their offense back in high gear on Tuesday. They shot a season-low 25 percent from the field in their loss to Northwest University, but made 21-of-48 shots against APU.
A 5-of-12 effort from 3-point territory helped the Warriors build a 40-30 lead by halftime. LCSC was also benefitted by the Cougars’ 1-for-9 mark at the foul line. Azusa Pacific made just 12-of-25 (48 percent) free throws on the day.
Tasha Bishop came off the bench to score 14 points on a 4-for-7 outing from behind the 3-point line. Madison Mendezona also came off the bench and made strong contributions as she had 10 points and was 2-for-2 from outside.
The Warriors’ bench outscored Azusa Pacific’s 29-11.
Thanks to good 3-point shooting by the Cougars early on, the score remained close for the majority of the first half. The Warriors led by just one point, 23-22, with 6:29 on the clock, but then went on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 32-22 lead. LCSC kept the lead around 10 points for the rest of the first half, and then held the lead at over 15 for most of the second.
While Stohr, who also had three assists and two steals, helped keep the Warrior attack rolling on offense, Kirsi Voshell did a good job of limiting the Cougars’ opportunities on defense. The junior collected eight points and had a game-high 12 rebounds. Alyssa Fierro added seven points and seven boards.
The Cougars were led by Eboni Sadler and Briana Hall who had 16 points apiece. Sadler also had eight rebounds, and Hall had a game-high five assists. Alex Moore-Porter was the only other player to score in double-digits as she had 12 points.
One of the only shortcomings for the Warriors was in ball control as they ended up with a season-high 30 turnovers. Azusa Pacific finished with 13 steals, while LCSC had 10 steals and helped forced APU into 18 turnovers.
The three-day tournament involves 13 different teams with all 17 games being played at either Hope International University in Fullerton, Calif., or at Biola University in La Mirada.
The Warriors will play two more games at the tournament before returning home. They’ll face Hope International University at 5 p.m. on Wednesday in Fullerton, and then The Master’s University at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday in La Mirada.
