LEWISTON, Idaho – The length of the Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team was more apparent on Sunday at the Greg Jose/Twin Rivers Physical Therapy Classic than it has been all season. Towering over their opponent, the Warriors used a 63-17 rebounding advantage to pummel Pacific Union College 110-45.
With its tallest player being 5-foot-9, Pacific Union had little to no answer for the Warriors’ height on the inside. This resulted in the Warriors missing their all-time record for rebounds in a game by just one.
All four of LCSC’s active players at 6-foot or taller finished with big games. Jasmine Stohr collected 23 points and seven rebounds, Kirsi Voshell had 15 points and 14 rebounds, Alyssa Fierro had 14 points and 10 boards, and McKenzie Heaslet finished with 15 points and five rebounds.
But the height differential wasn’t just limited to post players. In all, LCSC’s roster features just one player under 5-foot-7, while Pacific Union’s roster has only one player over 5-foot-7.
On the perimeter, 5-foot-10 guard Tasha Bishop used her length in collecting nine points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and three steals.
The Warriors shot 54.5 percent from the field in the game and led 56-14 in points in the paint, 34-2 in second chance points, 25-7 in points off of turnovers, and 12-0 in fast break points.
“I’m really excited by how well we played together offensively in the second half,” said LCSC head coach Brian Orr. “I thought we shared the ball really well, and our execution was good.”
Pushed by dominance inside and good shooting outside, the Warriors held a 52-20 lead at the half and ended up tying for fourth in the program record books with 110 points in a game.
Lewis-Clark State, ranked No. 5 in the NAIA, hit 8-of-18 attempts from 3-point territory (44.4 percent). Kelli Rice was 4-of-5 from deep to collect 12 points, and Brittaney Niebergall was 2-of-5 to finished with eight points. Niebergall also collected seven assists and six steals.
Pacific Union, an NAIA Division II team, was led by Carla Bartlett who finished with 17 points and six rebounds. The Pioneers shot 28.6 percent on the day.
With the win, the Warriors go 2-0 in the Classic and improve to 7-0 overall. Pacific Union went 1-1 during the event and now is 2-2 on the year.
For her back-to-back double-doubles, Fierro was chosen as the tournament’s MVP. Joining her on the all-tournament team were Stohr and Voshell of LCSC, Johanna Uribe of Walla Walla, Jade Reed of Concordia, and Bartlett of Pacific Union.
The next games for the Warriors will come on the road as they head to California for two games including one against the top-ranked team in the nation. LCSC will square off against Azusa Pacific, ranked No. 1 in the preseason NAIA poll, in Azusa on Friday, Nov. 25, at 5:30 p.m. The team will then head to Irvine to face Concordia on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 5:30 p.m.
