LA MIRADA, Calif. – With three solid wins in three consecutive days the Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team looks ready to start the Frontier Conference season. On Thursday night at the Biola Holiday Classic, the No. 3-ranked Warriors made The Master’s College its latest victim by a final score of 83-71.
The win means the Warriors are now at 14-1 overall and are riding a three-game win streak as they head into conference play in early January. LCSC’s first opponent will be Montana Western on Jan. 6, and then Montana Tech on Jan. 8. Both games will be at the LCSC Activity Center.
As is usually the case, it was a strong team effort for the Warriors on Thursday night. Four players scored in double-digits, but 6-foot-3 junior Kirsi Voshell was especially productive as she collected 16 points, 13 rebounds, and also had two blocks.
An 18-5 run late in the first half helped the Warriors hold a commanding 43-24 lead by halftime. The Mustangs, now 10-3, started shooting the ball better in the second half, but the Warriors were too far out of reach and never relinquished a double-digit lead.
With a 46.3 percent shooting clip from the field, LCSC did not let up on its offensive attack for the full 40 minutes. Jasmine Stohr had 16 points and seven assists, Tasha bishop went 2-for-5 from 3-point territory and had 11 points, and Alyssa Fierro just missed a double-double as she scored 10 and grabbed nine rebounds.
The Mustangs, which received votes in the NAIA’s last poll but were just outside of the top 25, proved to be a team worthy of top 25 consideration thanks in large part to a big game for Erica Inge.
Inge, a 5-foot-3 senior, did her part to keep score from getting too lopsided as she collected 27 points including 20 in the second half. She also had seven rebounds and five assists.
The Warriors did a good job of sticking to their own strengths and ended up dominating the inside for the majority of the game, especially in the first half when they outscored TMC 18-2 in the paint. LCSC finished with a 49-36 advantage in rebounds, and a 16-8 edge in second chance points.
Besides Fierro and Voshell, who has now had 10 or more rebounds in four of her last five games, the Warriors had help on the boards from Stohr, Lauren Daling, and Madison Mendezona. Each of the three contributed five rebounds apiece. Daling also had eight points, as did Loree Hill.
The Mustangs, which trailed by as many as 23 in the second half, shot 35.3 percent from the field overall and 43.2 percent in the second half.
With 12 points each, Lena Rivera and Ella Joines were the only other Mustangs to score in double-digits. Rivera also led her team with eight rebounds.
The Warriors, despite committing 19 turnovers to the Mustangs’ 17, led 26-18 in points off of turnovers.
