Skylights fall to No. 2 Warriors
From Bert Sahlberg
Sports information officer
Senior post
Ashley Baker scored 23 points and grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds to help the
Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team to its 15th straight victory,
a 68-64 triumph over Montana State University-Northern in a Frontier Conference
contest at the
Baker, who is making a solid run for the conference’s Player of the Year honor, hit 8-of-18 shots from the field and 7-of-9 free throws. She also had a season-high seven offensive rebounds and added two steals and a blocked shot to help the Warriors, ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, improve to 23-1 overall and a perfect 9-0 in conference play.
With the Warriors playing their second game without senior forward Aundrea Morrison, who suffered a season-ending knee injury, Baker took over inside and had a double-double by halftime with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the first half. Her play helped LCSC grab a 40-33 rebounding edge, including 19 offensive rebounds.
The Warriors needed those second and third opportunities. Even though LCSC took 16 more shots from the field, it only made two more baskets than the Skylights, which was the difference in the game. LCSC finished 24-of-66 from the field, 36.4 percent, and was just 5-of-24 from the 3-point line. MSU-Northern was 22-of-50 from the field and 4-of-11 at the 3-point line.
MSU-Northern, now 15-9 overall and 4-6 in conference play, actually led for most of the first half before a 3-point basket by Katya Yancheva made it 35-33. The Skylights tied it at 35-35 at halftime.
The Warriors gained the upper hand in the second half with Janeen Nelson scoring 11 of her 17 points in the final 20 minutes. The Warriors led by as much as 10 with 5:20 left, but MSU-Northern hit six consecutive free throws to make it a three-point game. Nelson countered with two free throws to put the game out of reach.
Mandy Troutt added five points, five rebounds and three assists for the Warriors, who received solid play from their bench and received high praise for LCSC coach Brian Orr.
DeLayne Johnston had 20 points and nine rebounds to pace the Skylights, while Chelsie Searle added 12 points.
Both teams
are back in action Saturday. MSU-Northern continues its road trip by playing
Lights fall to 6-4 in
From Bert Sahlberg
Sports information officer
Enjoying
one of its better shooting nights of the season, the Lewis-Clark State College
men’s basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak with a solid 78-63
triumph over Montana State University-Northern in Frontier Conference
action at the
The
Warriors, ranked No. 22 in the NAIA, improved to 18-6 overall and kept pace in
the conference standings with Carroll College, which needed overtime to defeat
Montana-Western on Thursday night. Carroll is in first place in the conference
at 8-2, while LCSC is 7-2. MSU-Northern is in fourth at 6-4, just a half-game
behind 6-3
LCSC only trailed once in the game at 2-0, but responded with the next 11 points. Although the Lights cut the margin to two, LCSC built the advantage to 38-28 at halftime. The Warriors opened up a 15-point lead, but Northern fought back to cut the margin to 65-58 with less than 5 minutes remaining. LCSC, however, hit its free throws down the stretch and outscored the Lghts 13-5 the rest of the way.
The Warriors shot 57.4 percent from the field, hitting 27-of-47 shots, including 6-of-12 3-pointers. LCSC shot 53.6 percent in the first half and then made 12-of-19 shots in the second half for 63.2 percent shooting.
LCSC did its damage in a variety of ways. Junior post Mike Gordy scored 10 of his 15 points in the first half controlling the inside, while freshman point guard Napoleon Gordon ignited the crowd in the second half with his play. He scored 10 points in the second half and also finished with 15 points, along with three assists and three steals. Robert Comer came off the bench and scored 12 points, hitting three 3-pointers.
Seven of the eight Warriors who scored in the game had at least seven points. Chris Pitts led LCSC with eight rebounds, while Teran Lee added six. Both also had nine points.
LCSC’s bench finished 12-of-16 from the field, including 4-of-5 at the 3-point line.
MSU-Northern, which falls to 16-9 overall, was led by Delvaughn Tinned’s game-high 17 points, but he was just 7-of-21 from the field. Ronnie Simpson added 13 points, while Brian Erickson had 10.
Both teams
resume conference play on Saturday. Northern will travel to