LEWISTON, Idaho – With a 62.5 percent shooting clip, 19 steals, 11 3-pointers, and 37 assists, the Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team was able to write its name into the program record books on Monday night. The Warriors cruised their way to a 107-25 victory over Walla Walla University—and the 82 point scoring difference now stands as widest margin of victory in school history.
Despite jumping to a 22-point lead in the first seven minutes of the game, the No. 5-ranked Warriors never seemed to lose their focus and continued to play at an up-tempo and disciplined manner throughout the game.
LCSC made 7-of-14 attempts from 3-point territory in the first half and coupled this with eight steals and steady defense to lead 59-5 at the break. In the second half, the Warriors shot 64.5 percent from the field to continue their scoring pace and reach 100 points for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
“They’ve had a couple of setbacks this year and didn’t come in with their best team,” LCSC head coach Brian Orr said in defense of Walla Walla. “But we got to work on some things tonight and hopefully it’ll help us get better.”
The former record for largest margin of victory of 80 came during the 2005-06 campaign when the Warriors knocked off Bethany University 117-37.
Besides giving the Warriors ample opportunity to work on execution on offense, the comfortable lead also gave Orr an opportunity to give his five non-starters a chance to play over half the game.
Freshman Tanis Fuller, and Lewiston native, came off the bench to score 19 points on a 9-of-11 night from the field. Along with displaying impressive scoring skills in the paint, Fuller also tallied eight rebounds and three assists.
Jasmine Stohr finished with 17 points, six assists, and six steals; while Loree Hill shot 3-of-7 from the outside and had 15 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Freshman Kelli Rice also added six assists as the Warriors’ assist total of 37 fell just two short of the all-time mark of 39.
All 10 members of LCSC’s active roster had at least four points, one rebound, and one steal in the game. Of the Warriors’ final point total, 59 came from the bench.
Alongside with Fuller and Rice, fellow freshman McKenzie Heaslet also had a chance to debut her skills as she ended up with 10 points and six boards.
“We love our freshman, there’s no doubt. They have high energy and they’re really competitors,” said Orr. “One of the best things about today was that we had our second group in there.”
Next the Warriors will hit the road and face two opponents in La Mirada, Calif., this weekend. They’ll play Biola University at 7 p.m. on Friday, and then Hope International at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
