FRANKFORT, Ky. – Fifth-ranked Lubbock Christian University put its offense into another gear in the second half and came away with a victory against the No. 12-ranked Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team in the second round of the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship on Friday. After leading by a point at halftime, the Warriors fell by a final score of 70-61 and end their 2011-12 campaign at 29-5.
Lewis-Clark State; which had a 41-33 advantage in rebounds, shot a decent 36.4 percent from the field, and committed only 11 turnovers; was plagued by foul trouble throughout the contest.
“It was a big difference in the game,” said LCSC head coach Brian Orr about the foul situation. “Lubbock is a hard matchup because of its ability to get to the foul line.”
Multiple fouls early on not only gave the Chaps ample opportunity at the free throw line but also restricted the play of standout Warrior seniors Jasmine Stohr, Alyssa Fierro, and Kirsi Voshell. Lubbock Christian ended up making 21-of-25 shots at the line, and Stohr finished with five fouls and Fierro and Voshell had four apiece.
“They (the Chaps) kind of won the game in the first half because we went into the second half with foul trouble,” said Orr. “We were in such foul trouble that we had to play more zone defense instead of man-to-man.”
The Warriors held Lubbock Christian, now 27-5, to a 26.1 percent shooting mark to keep the score close in the first half, however, the Chaparrals took advantage of LCSC’s need to avoid fouls and shot 62.5 percent in the second to pull away.
After leading 27-26 at the half, LCSC’s final lead of the game was 34-33 with just over 14 minutes left in regulation. The Chaps outscored the Warriors 33-16 over the next 11 minutes to hold a 66-50 advantage with three minutes remaining.
While Lubbock began to drain shots on each possession, Lewis-Clark State often put itself in a position to score but failed to make the shots it needed to keep up.
“We missed some open layups, and you can’t miss those at this level,” Orr said. “In a lot of ways, except for those missed baskets, we played well enough to win.”
Stohr led the game with 18 points to go with nine rebounds. Freshman Brittaney Niebergall hit a couple big 3-pointers to finish with 14 points, six assists, and five steals. Fierro led the team with 10 rebounds.
“I thought Jasmine played well, and Brittaney played a heckuva game. Brittaney had a couple big steals in the first half and was really aggressive.”
The Chaparrals shot 44.7 percent overall and hit five 3-pointers in the second half to go 7-of-12 overall from behind the arc. The Warriors were 6-of-19 from deep, and 7-of-11 at the foul line.
Lubbock’s attack was very balanced as four of its five starters scored in double digits. Brittany Roberts had 15 points and six assists, Nicole Hampton had 14 points and six rebounds, April Ehlers had 13 points and five boards, and Kelsey Canavan had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“I thought our players fought hard. They never gave up,” said Orr. “The bottom line is, we missed too many shots in the second half and they shot lights out.”
Friday’s game caps what was another very strong season for the Warriors. Lewis-Clark State claimed its fifth consecutive Frontier Conference tournament title and made its 16th appearance at nationals in program history.
In Orr’s 11 years at the Warrior helm his team’s have held a winning percentage of 77.9 with an overall record of 287-81.
One-hundred-ten of those wins have come in the last four years thanks in large part to the outstanding play of seniors Stohr, Fierro, Voshell, and Tasha Bishop. The four-player tandem will go down in history with the second most wins during individual careers in Warrior history.
“It’s really hard to say goodbye to this group. They’ve made a huge impact on our program.”
Though members of the group won’t be listed on next year’s roster they’ll be listed in the program record books for years to come.
Stohr ends her collegiate career with 2,143 points to be ranked No. 3 on the all-time scoring list, behind only Rosie Albert (2,276) and Julie String (2,229). Stohr also ranks No. 1 in career free throws made with 460.
With 1,094 rebounds, Fierro is behind only Ashley Baker (1,227) for most career boards. Fierro also ranks second in career blocked shots with 204. Alongside Baker and Voshell, Fierro, with 1,258 career points, is the only other player in Warrior history to collect 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
Leading the all-time shot blocking list is Voshell who accumulated 235 swats in four years. Voshell ranks third all-time in rebounds with 1,006, and eighth in points with 1,314.
Bishop ends her Warrior career ranked No. 13 in 3-pointers made with 111. She hit a career-high seven 3-pointers in helping LCSC get past Loyola (La.) 74-63 in the first round at nationals on Thursday.
