When Alyssa Fierro signed with the Lewis-Clark State women's basketball program two years ago out of Bigfork, Mont., she wasn't just straying from the confines of her home state for the college experience.
She wanted to play for the best - and to the dismay of her hometown fans, it was at one of the two schools in the Frontier Conference not from the Big Sky state.
On Saturday night, the 6-foot-2 post poured in a game-high 20 points to lead the No. 12 Warriors in a 72-67 win over Carroll at the Activity Center - adding to the frustration of Montana basketball purists.
"Our game plan was to go inside, and we did a good job sharing the ball tonight," Fierro said. "I thought it was an all-around team effort.
"To be from Montana, it's cool go against teams from where you're from and play against familiar faces."
L-C zipped to an early 20-10 lead. With the Warriors able to score on the dribble drive, jump shots were at a premium.
But L-C coach Brian Orr wasn't comfortable with the cushion, and with good reason. Carroll, which ranks fifth in the nation in 3-pointers made per game, went on a subsequent 21-11 run and took its first lead of the game when Elly Bruursema scored to make it 32-31.
But super sophomore Jasmine Stohr gave L-C the lead with a nifty drive just before the halftime buzzer.
"You never feel safe with a lead against Carroll," Orr said. "And you have to give them credit. They were taking care of the basketball and were able to come back."
Bruursema, Carroll's leading scorer, opened the second stanza with another bucket to give the Saints the lead. It proved to be the last lead for the Helena school.
L-C, which was conscious of Carroll's lack of size, took advantage of the absence 6-foot-2 Nikki Mills, who left the game after a blow to the mouth in the first half. After Carroll knotted it up at 42 on an Alex Dunn jumper, the Warriors went on a 14-2 run that saw Fierro and fellow tree Kirsi Voshell spearhead the charge in the paint.
Carroll cut into L-C's double-digit lead in the latter stages of the period, but wasn't able to recover from the run.
"Alyssa and Kirsi were definitely our 1-2 punch tonight," Orr said. "Our girls did a good job of finding them."
L-C shot 50 percent from the field, not far ahead of Carroll's 45 percent. But the Warriors also went 20-for-28 from the charity stripe, including a lofty 16-for-20 showing in the second half.
"We were going to pound the ball inside and get to the foul line, which I thought we did well," Carroll coach Shawn Nelson said. "(L-C) just shot more free throws in the second half, and that was big."
Carroll (10-10, 1-4) dropped its third straight conference game after being picked to finish second in the three preseason conference poll, but Orr didn't put much credence into the Saints' sputtering start.
"A game with Carroll is always going to be a nail-biter," Orr said. "That's a team that's a lot better than its record right now."
Voshell had 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds for L-C (19-3, 5-1) and Lauren Daling distributed six assists. Carroll, which had four players reach double figures, was led by Bruursema's 17 points.
CARROLL (10-10, 1-4)
Dunn 4-7 4-7 12, Bruursema 6-17 1-2 17, Milla 2-5 2-2 6, Leibach 0-1 0-0 0, Heidrenach 0-3 0-3 0, Brekke 0 0-0 0, Green 5-8 2-2 13, Meyer 0-1 0-0 0, Jagelski 0-0 4-4 4, Scheffelmaier 1-3 0-2 3, Guertin 5-6 2-4 12. Totals 23-51 15-23.
LEWIS CLARK STATE (19-3, 5-1)
Stohr 5-11 2-2 13, Voshell 7-9 1-2 15, Fierro 7-11 6-8 20, DePeel 1-4 4-4 6, Reiter 2-4 2-4 6, Bishop 0-2 0-0 0, Honeycutt 1-5 2-2 4, Kane 0-0 0-0 0, Mendezona 1-1 1-2 5, Miller 1-2 0-0 2, Daling 0-1 1-4 1. Totals 25-50 20-28 72.
Haltime - LCSC 33, Carroll 32. Three-point goals - Carroll 6-18 (Dunn 0-1, Bruursema 4-10, Leibach 0-1, Green 1-4, Scheffelmaier 1-2), LCSC 2-6 (Stohr 1-2, Fierro 0-1, Bishop 0-1, Mendezona 1-1, Daling 0-1). Rebounds - Carroll 30 (Dunn 8), LCSC 31 (Voshell 8). Fouls - Carroll 21, LCSC 18. Assists - Carroll 11 (Dunn 6), LCSC 16 (Daling 6). Tecnicals - none. A - 1,124.
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Collingwood may be reached at rcollingwood@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2260.
