SPOKANE - The Lewis-Clark State College women's basketball team kicked into a different gear in the second half and left Whitworth University behind in a non-league game on Tuesday evening. The Warriors, now 12-0 on the season, topped the NCAA Division-III Pirates 79-69.
Down 36-35 at halftime, LCSC used a 13-0 run early in the second half to grab a double-digit lead and then maintained a lead of nine points or more the rest of the way.
"We came to play the second half," LCSC coach Brian Orr said. "We stepped up in every aspect of the game. Our offense, our defense was so much better."
Caelyn Orlandi hit two 3-pointers during the 13-0 rally and finished with a season-high 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the outside. Loree Hill collected 15 points and four rebounds, and McKenzie Heaslet also played a pivotal role as she led the team with nine rebounds, including five on the offensive end.
"Loree Hill hit a couple shots right off the bat. That got us going and gave us a lift of confidence," Orr said. "The offensive boards by McKenzie Haeslet were also huge, and Caelyn was really tough the whole game."
The Warriors, who are off to their best start since they went 26-0 during the 1999-2000 season, continue to shine at the foul line and this helped them hold the lead down the stretch. They made 20-of-24 free throw attempts overall (83 percent), and were 12-for-14 in the second half.
Tanis Fuller and Megan Risinger also scored in double figures as they had 12 and 10 points, respectively. Brittaney Niebergall led the team with seven assists, and Hill and Kelli Rice shared the team lead in steals with three apiece.
"It was another one of those games where I thought our pressure and up-tempo offense really started paying off in the second half," said Orr, who also commented that his team's depth played a key role in the win.
Whitworth fell to 3-2 on the season. The Pirates presented a balanced attack with five players scoring in double digits. Among those players were Clarkston product KC McConnell, who led the Pirate charge with 12 points. Colfax alum Kayla Johnson tallied 11 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for the Pirates while Lewiston alum Jessica Kramer scored 10 points.
L-C (12-0)
Fuller 6-9 0-1 12, Heaslet 2-5 2-2 6, Hill 4-8 6-7 15, Niebergall 0-3 6-6 6, Rice 1-2 0-1 3, Barnes 0-0 0-0 0, Risinger 4-5 2-2 10, Orlandi 6-13 2-3 19, Byerly 0-2 0-0 0, Litalien 1-3 2-2 4, Plourd 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 26-54 20-24 79.
Whitworth (3-2)
Lyons 3-4 0-0 7, Lahue 4-8 1-1 12, McConnell 4-12 0-0 10, Zappone 4-5 0-1 11, Johnson 4-18 3-3 11, Knutsen 1-3 2-2 4, Kramer 4-7 2-2 10, McLeod 0-1 0-0 0, Belton-Sharp 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 25-59 10-11 69.
Halftime - Whitworth 36, L-C 35. 3-point goals - Whitworth 9-16 (Lyons 1-1, Lahue 3-5, McConnell 2-5, Zapone 3-3, Johnson 0-2), L-C 7-16 (Hill 1-4, Niebergall 0-1, Rice 1-2, Orlandi 5-7, Litalien 0-1). Rebounds - L-C 33 (Heaslet 9), Whitworth 34 (Johnson 8). Total fouls - Whitworth 20, L-C 17. Fouled out - McConnell. Technicals - none. A - 158.
Idaho 67, Carroll 39
MOSCOW - The University of Idaho women's basketball team came out firing in the first half and never looked back. The Vandals defeated Carroll on Tuesday night at Memorial Gym.
Idaho (5-3) shot 17-of-32 (.531) from the field in the first half. The Vandals netted 39 points in the opening half, matching its season high at Nevada. Junior Stacey Barr was 4-of-5 in the first 20 minutes of play, leading the Vandals with nine points going into the break. Idaho closed the final 11:28 of the first half on a 19-3 run, boosting the Silver and Gold to a 39-12 halftime lead and putting the game out of reach.
Idaho's 12 points allowed in the first half was the lowest of the season and lowest since North Dakota scored 18 on Dec. 29, 2011.
"It was great to be back home in Memorial Gym," coach Jon Newlee state. "It feels like we have been on the road forever. To be able to come home and play with the energy we played with in the first half, I was really pleased with our effort."
Idaho (5-3)
Salvatore 2-7 1-2 6, Barr 6-8 6-6 20, Forde 4-10 1-1 9, Charlston 3-9 0-0 6, Ballestero 2-4 0-0 6, Wilson 2-3 3-4 8, Reilly 3-7 0-1 6, Austgulen 0-1 0-0 0, Schivo 3-5 0-0 6, Chow 0-1 0-0 0, Trujillo 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 11-14 67.
Carroll (5-4)
Estey 3-8 2-2 10, Junkermier 4-10 1-2 11, Watson 2-4 2-4 6, Snelling 1-6 0-0 2, Bagley 3-10 1-2 7, Osborne 0-1 0-2 0, Pfau 0-7 0-0 0, Sullivan 0-2 0-0 0, Johnston 1-7 1-2 3, Bignell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-56 7-14 39.
Halftime - UI 39, Carroll 12. 3-Point Goals - UI 6-21 (Salvatore 1-5, Barr 2-4, Ballestero 2-4, Wilson 1-2), Carroll 4-20 (Estey 2-7, Junkermier 1-2). Fouled Out - Bagley. Rebounds - UI 43 (Charleston 10), Carrol 36 (Johnston 9). Assists - UI 13 Wilson 5), Carroll 7. Total Fouls - UI 14, Carroll 16.
LCSC signs Cd'A's Tackett
The Lewis-Clark State women's basketball team has signed its second recruit to a national letter of intent for the 2014-15 season in Brittany Tackett, a 6-foot-1 forward from Coeur d'Alene High.
Tackett joins Prairie High's Kyndahl Ulmer as players committed to the Warriors for next season.
Tackett is currently averaging close to 14 points per game as the go-to player for Coeur d'Alene, a perennial contender for the Idaho 5A state championship.
"This is a big one," LCSC coach Brian Orr said. "Brittany is a D-I athlete who is going to be an impact player immediately for us."
Orr said that he wasn't even sure Tackett was interested in playing college basketball until late in the recruiting process.
"We thought she was going to Washington State for track," Orr said of Tackett, who is also a standout sprinter and long jumper for the Vikings. "When we found out she decided to play basketball, we immediately set up a campus visit with her and her parents. Even though we don't have a senior on the roster, she was just too good of a player to pass up."
Warriors to provide fan bus
The Lewis-Clark State College athletic department will have a rooter bus for the women's basketball game between the Warriors and the University of Idaho Vandals on December 11.
The bus will leave the LCSC parking lot closest to the Activity Center at 4:45 p.m. and will return there after the game, which is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
The $25 cost includes one ticket and dinner from Southway Pizzeria. Fans are asked to bring their own drinks.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Vandals sign post
MOSCOW - The Idaho men's basketball team secured the second piece of its signing class for next season with the addition of Arkadiy Mkrtychyan, a 6-foot-7 forward out of Portland, Ore., who originally hails from Moscow, Russia.
"Ark is in the lines of someone like Stephen Madison, he's a multi-position guy who can play both forward spots, small and power forward," Idaho coach Don Verlin said. "He has had extensive experience overseas. We saw him this summer and I really liked his ability to play around the basket and away from the basket, and he really fits into our system."
Mkrtychyan played at the Academy of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, as a sophomore before transferring to Portland's Columbia Christian High where he had to sit out his junior season. He played AAU basketball for Inner City Portland Elite and competed in the 2011 U16 European Championships, where he averaged 13.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Mkrtychyan joins Colton High's Jake Straughan as Idaho's early period signees.
VOLLEYBALL
Trio of WSU players honored
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Freshmen Washington State volleyball players Kyra Holt, Emmy Allen and Hailey Bethune were honored with selections to the All-Pac-12 volleyball teams, announced Tuesday by Commissioner Larry Scott.
Holt, a 6-1 outside hitter from Hercules, Calif., was voted onto the All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention team and the Pac-12 All-Freshman team. Holt led the Cougars this season with 3.89 kills per set average, ranked seventh-best in the conference.
Allen, a 6-2 outside hitter from Mill Creek, Wash., and Bethune, a 6-0 right side from Stockton, Calif., were selected to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Honorable Mention team. Allen contributed 166 kills while Bethune tallied 94 kills despite a delayed start to the season after sitting out with a concussion.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
WSU players receive awards
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Washington State soccer players Micaela Castain, Rachael Doyle and Nicole Setterlund were honored by the National Soccer Coaches Association of American as all-region selections.
Castain was named to the NSCAA NCAA Division I Women's All-Pacific Region First Team while Doyle and Setterlund were second-team honorees.
