FULLERTON, Calif. – Senior All-American candidate Jasmine Stohr and all-Frontier Conference performer Kirsi Voshell posted double-doubles, and fellow senior post Alyssa Fierro finished one point away from a double-double as the Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team dominated Hope International University 84-51 on Saturday night.
The Warriors, ranked No. 5 in the NAIA preseason poll, improved to 4-0 on the season, while the Royals, picked to finish eighth in the 10-team Golden State Athletic Conference, fell to 1-2.
LCSC dominated practically every phase of the game and nearly pulled off three players recording double-doubles in the same game for the first time in more than a decade.
“It was kind of an ugly game because of their pressure,” LCSC coach Brian Orr said. “Their full-court press made it ugly, but our kids handled the pressure well.”
Stohr was lights out and finished with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field. She also added 11 rebounds and five assists. Voshell was 5-of-12 from the field to finish with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Fierro had a game-high 14 rebounds and nine points.
“We had balanced scoring and it was a total team effort,” Orr said. “Everyone came in and contributed in a positive way. It was a good road trip for us.”
On Friday night, LCSC gave up 24 offensive rebounds but still defeated Biola 66-55. The Warriors hit the boards hard on Saturday night and outrebounded Hope International 64-40. LCSC also had 27 offensive rebounds.
“One of things we really have been focusing on is transition defense and we were really tested with it on the road,” Orr said. “The other thing we wanted to do was to rebound the basketball. We had 64 rebounds and 27 of those were on the offensive end. I couldn’t ask for a better effort.”
Defense again paved the way for LCSC as Hope International hit only 16-of-70 shots from the field for 22.9 percent. The team also was 4-of-23 from the 3-point line for 17.4 percent.
“It was an ugly game. If they had called every foul, we’d probably still be playing,” Orr said. “But I like how our team responded to pressure. We defended really well. We went on the road and held teams to 27.5 and 22.9 percent from the field on consecutive nights. I feel really good about the defensive effort and our transition defense.”
Hope International used an early 5-0 run to take a 7-4 lead at the 16:23 mark, but a free throw and a jumper by Stohr helped LCSC answer with a 5-0 run of its own.
Hope International tied the game at 9, but a bucket by Fierro started a 13-0 run by LCSC to put the Warriors ahead for good at 22-9. The lead never dipped below double digits from that point. LCSC led by as much as 18 twice in the opening 20 minutes before it settled for a 38-21 halftime advantage.
The second half was more of the same as the Warriors led by at least 20 for all but the opening minute of the half. LCSC led by as much as 35 in the final minute of play.
Along with the big three, senior guard Tasha Bishop added 11 points and five boards, while Kellie Rice had nine points off the bench. All nine Warriors who played in the game scored at least two points and grabbed one rebound.
The score easily could have been worse if the Warriors hadn’t struggled some at the foul line. LCSC finished 22-of-44 at the line for 50 percent.
Sophomore post Loree Hill missed the game with a knee injury that will be evaluated this week. Orr also said that freshman point guard Brittaney Niebergall suffered a hand injury against Hope and also will have it evaluated when the team returns to Lewiston.
Orr said he was happy with his squad, which played five games in eight days, including an exhibition game at Washington State.
LCSC returns to action on Tuesday to face Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. The Warriors then play host to the Twin Rivers Physical Therapy Classic on Saturday and Sunday at the LCSC Activity Center. Saturday’s action has Concordia against LCSC at 5:30 p.m., and Pacific Union against Walla Walla University at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, Pacific Union and LCSC play at 1 p.m., followed by Concordia and Walla Walla at 3 p.m.
