Sander surpasses 1,000 points, LCSC stays undefeated

Ellie Sander was close to 1,000 career points and she knew it.

At tipoff Tuesday night in a women’s basketball game between Lewis-Clark State and Walla Walla, Sander was 11 points away from the milestone. When she snagged a steal to open the second quarter and took the ball to the net for the and-1, the senior from Spokane had scored her 1,000th and 1,001st career points.

Sander’s 15 points and Darian Herring’s career-high seven blocks and 18 points propelled the undefeated Warriors (6-0, 1-0) to a 71-48 win over Walla Walla (3-4, 1-0) in the schools’ Cascade Conference women’s hoops opener on Tuesday at the P1FCU Activity Center in Lewiston.

In the men’s game later in the evening, the Warriors (5-1, 1-0) were victorious 94-59.

Sander surpasses 1,000 points

Sander said that LCSC sports information director Alisha Alexander had kept her informed of her progress as she neared the milestone.

One thing she did not know?

Her parents had made a sign.

After Sander made the milestone-crossing shot to open the second quarter, Sander’s parents raised a black sign with golden text that read “1000” to honor the senior from Northwest Christian High School in Spokane.

The milestone coincided with another career accomplishment: Sander’s 100th career game as a Warrior. In her four seasons and 100 games at LC State, Sander has scored 1,004 points. She led the Warriors in free throw percentage (.895) and assists (118) last season.

“Ellie’s big time. She’s so athletic,” LC State coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “Ellie truly her junior year and senior year has figured out to use her athleticism. She always had it, but now she knows how to use it.”

Darian Herring blocks seven shots

Herring paced all Warrior women with her career-high-tying 18 points. The sophomore from Deer Park shot 8-for-16, grabbed five rebounds, dished out five assists, added one steal and blocked a career-high seven shots.

Walla Walla felt Herring’s presence from the opening tip onward when she blocked a shot early in the first quarter. Herring also scored a “third chance” point grabbing a rebound after two LC State shots went up and out.

LC State trailed Walla Walla 13-4 after four-and-a-half minutes of play.

Orlandi said her team was not phased by the early deficit and stuck to its plan, making the shots and defensive plays necessary to close the gap and build a lead.

Herring scored 11 of her 18 points in the first quarter, finishing the stanza with a driving layup in which she held the ball about 15 feet out from the hoop, dribbled twice, spun around and put the shot up and in off the glass to extend the Warrior lead to 21-15 after 10 minutes.

Herring collected five of her seven blocks in the first half and three of them in the first quarter, flashing a knack for converting defensive wins into points.

“That’s something you can’t really teach,” Orlandi said of Herring’s blocking. “That’s just kind of an innate ability and she does such a good time of timing and reading and the best part about that is Darrian can get a block and then push the ball up the floor.”

Warriors stay undefeated

The Warriors won their Cascade Conference opener to improve to 6-0. Their start to the season has included a 77-44 win over No. 9 Carroll College on Nov. 15.

LC State junior Sitara Byrd made a difference with eight points, seven rebounds and four steals and junior Lindsey Wilson anchored the inside with 14 points as part of a 44-point day in the paint for the Warriors.

While the Warriors’ record is perfect, their play leaves room for improvement.

Orlandi said she would like to see her team shoot the ball better, have a few more assists and reduce the number of turnovers.

“We’re just gonna keep focusing on ways to get better every day,” Orlandi said. “You want to play your best basketball at the end of the season and everything leading up to it (is) progress, progress, progress. Every time this team comes to practice, they work hard.”

Sander and Herring said they want to lead the Warriors to an NAIA championship.

Orlandi said her team has big aspirations and is capable of achieving them because of the team’s depth and the ability to spread the ball around the floor.

“They’re all bought into the process and it’s unselfish basketball,” Orlandi said. “This is us, this is us. This is Warrior women’s basketball. It’s all about sharing the ball, getting everybody involved and playing the game right.”

LC State men start fast, win big while missing their big

The Lewis-Clark State men’s basketball team used an early offensive explosion, 20 points from sophomore MaCarhy Morris and 15 each from senior Taden King and redshirt freshman Jayceon Smith to beat Walla Walla 94-59.

The Warriors (5-1, 1-0) played without sophomore Alton Hamilton, their leading scorer and offense-generating center.

LC State coach Austin Johnson said he is cautiously optimistic to have Hamilton back from an injury next week.

The Warriors jumped out to a swift 16-4 lead less than five minutes into the game thanks to a pair of Morris 3-pointers and never trailed.

“When you hit that first shot you feel like they’re all going to go in,” Morris said.

LC State hit 7-of-13 3-pointers in the first half. That mark cooled to a total of 10-of-27 by the end of the game. Morris ended the day with four 3-pointers and King added three shots from beyond the arc.

Johnson said the early offensive success provided his team a cushion when they experienced an offensive lull later in the game and struggled to defend in transition.

Missing Hamilton, who leads the Warriors with 21.8 points per game through five games, LC State turned to a small ball lineup to start the game and brought in redshirt freshman Josh Salguero off the bench.

Salguero posted eight points and grabbed five rebounds, four of them offensive boards.

Johnson said his team’s goals are value-based, rather than tangible.

“If you can be tough, together, connected ... you’re gonna win a lot of games,” Johnsons said. “This group can be as good as they want to be. But they’re gonna have to be a lot better and I think they know that and they’re starting to really buy into that.”

WOMEN’S GAME

WALLA WALLA (3-4, 0-1)

Chariah Daniels 6-10 2-2 14, Jaylo Bello 4-11 1-2 13, Natalee Trevino 3-12 0-0 8, Jordan Green-Wallace 1-8 4-4 8, Allison Haslam 2-6 0-0 4, Sidney Folkenberg 1-3 0-0 2, Hannah Rankin 0-1 1-4 1. Totals 17-51 8-12 48.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (6-0, 1-0)

Darian Herring 8-16 2-4 18, Ellie Sander 7-11 0-1 15, Sitara Byrd 4-9 0-0 8, Payton Hymas 2-5 0-0 4, Mataya Green 0-2 0-0 0, Lindsey Wilson 7-7 0-1 14, Ella Nelson 2-4 0-0 4, Tatum Brager 1-7 0-0 3, Tessa Karlberg 1-1 0-0 3, Camden Barger 1-4 0-2 2, Grace Beardin 0-1 0-0 0, Kendall Wallace 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-67 2-8 71.

Walla Walla 15 10 13 10—48

Lewis-Clark State 21 20 13 17—71

3-point goals — Walla Walla 6-19 (Bello 4-10, Trevino 2-7, Haslam 0-1, Rankin 0-1), Lewis-Clark State 3-18 (Karlberg 1-1, Sander 1-4, Brager 1-7, Byrd 0-1, Hymas 0-1, Nelson 0-2, Barger 0-2). Rebounds — Walla Walla 39 (Daniels 14), Lewis-Clark State 35 (Byrd 7). Assists — Walla Walla 13 (Daniels 4), Lewis-Clark State 20 (Herring 5). Total fouls — Walla Walla 12, Lewis-Clark State 15. Attendance — 607.

MEN’S GAME

WALLA WALLA (0-4, 0-1)

Wasser 2-9 0-2 6, Mestrov 2-6 0-0 6, Sebirokwa 4-7 2-2 10, Vaughan 3-10 2-2 8, Dalan 4-7 1-1 9, Ezeonu 3-7 0-0 7, Tyler 0-2 0-0 0, Mireles 1-4 0-0 2, Fenz 0-2 0-0 0, Dunn 0-1 0-0 0, Tor 0-0 0-0 0, Beard 1-2 0-0 3, Twiford 3-8 0-0 7, Clasen 0-0 0-0 0, Runnels 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 23-65 6-9 59.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (5-1, 1-0)

Lustig 5-8 0-2 10, Morris 8-17 0-0 20, Boykins 3-4 3-3 10, King 6-9 0-0 15, Hunt 2-2 0-0 4, Carpenter 3-6 1-1 8, Smith 6-10 2-3 15, Knowles 0-1 0-0 0, Skaife 0-0 0-2 0, Jedlicka 1-2 0-0 2, Nordland 1-6 0-0 2, Salguero 4-10 0-1 8. Totals 39-75, 6-12 94.

Halftime — Lewis-Clark State 50-37 . 3-Point Goals — Walla Walla 7-20 (Wasser 2-4, Mestrov 2-3, Vaughan 0-4, Dalan 0-1, Ezeonu 1-2, Fenz 0-1, Dunn 0-1, Beard 1-1, Twiford 1-3) Lewis-Clark State 10-27 (Lustig 0-1, Morris 4-8, Boykins 1-1, King 3-6, Carpenter 1-4, Smith 1-2, Jedlicka 0-1, Nordland 0-4) Rebounds — Walla Walla 36 (Twiford 6), Lewis-Clark State 48 (Lustig 10). Assists — Walla Walla 12 (Dalan 3, Ezeonu 3), Lewis-Clark State 15 (Morris 6) Total Fouls — Walla Walla 12 (Beard 3), Lewis-Clark State 9 (Salguero 4) A — 533.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.