BILLINGS, Mont. -- The Lewis-Clark State women's basketball team barged into the national title game in impressive fashion, hammering Vanguard of California 65-41 in the semifinals of the NAIA national tournament Monday night.
The Warriors (35-1) punched their ticket to their first national championship game in program history with the blowout victory. They will take on Oklahoma City (33-2) at 6 p.m. PDT Tuesday night. The game will air live on ESPN3 and KOZE-AM (950).
After Vanguard went ahead 5-0, L-C dominated the rest of the game. The Lewiston school led 34-20 at halftime and made it 54-30 entering the fourth quarter.
The Warriors mustered a well-rounded effort, with Brooke Litalien (13 points), Jossilyn Blackman (12), Brittany Tackett (10) and Hailey Turner (10) all scoring in double figures. Caelyn Orlandi, who had been a huge scoring presence in L-C's previous tournament games, scored just three points on four floor attempts, but tallied 12 assists.
For more on this game, see Tuesday's Tribune.
