PRESCOTT, Ariz. — Thirteen players scored for the No. 24 Lewis-Clark State women’s basketball team as the Warriors defeated Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 79-61 in their first road game of the season Wednesday.
Junior guard/forward Sitara Byrd paced LC State with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. senior guard Ellie Sander added 11 points and five steals as the Warriors jumped out to a 12-point lead after 10 minutes.
As a team, the Warriors (2-0) drained 13 3-pointers and tallied 12 steals.
“The way we started the game was fantastic today,” LC State coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “We came out with great energy, forced turnovers and got great shots offensively. Embry-Riddle is a great team and does a great job defensively and it was a perfect match up for us.
“Collectively we shared the ball well and I love to see the continuous balanced attack and points coming from nearly every player in the stat sheet.”
Byrd opened the scoring in the contest and the Warriors took control early. Junior guard Payton Hymas hit a jumper to start a 12-point run that featured a pair of 3-pointers by Byrd and layups by Sander to give LC State a 14-2 advantage.
By halftime, the Warriors were up 47-33 as they maintained a steady lead.
A layup by sophomore forward Darian Herring pushed the lead to 58-39 midway through the third quarter.
After a short scoring drought for both teams, junior forward Lindsey Wilson fought her way to the basket and senior guard Tessa Karlberg added her second 3-pointer in the final minute of the frame. The Warriors took a 63-47 cushion into the final 10 minutes.
Later, freshman guard Kendall Wallace of Clarkston grabbed an offensive board and turned it into an assist on a 3 by sophomore forward Grace Beardin. Karlberg made it back-to-back LC State 3-pointers moments later. Hymas pushed the run to eight points on a bucket that made it a 71-49 advantage for the Warriors.
Karlberg finished with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range.
Herring filled up the box score with eight points, five assists and three blocks, and Hymas tallied seven points and three steals.
The Warriors shot .485 as a team and .464 from 3-point range.
LC State wraps up its Arizona trip today with a contest against Park-Gilbert (Ariz.) in Mesa, Ariz. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m.
