by LEWISTON, Idaho – Using a smothering defense that held Montana State-Northern to season lows in points and field goal percentage, the Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team remained undefeated on the season with a 67-42 win over the Skylights in an NAIA Top 25 matchup at the LCSC Activity Center on Saturday night.
LCSC, ranked No. 7 in the NAIA, improved to 13-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play after it held 16th-ranked MSU-Northern to just 25 percent shooting accuracy from the field and just 29 points over the final three quarters. The Skylights fell to 8-2 and 1-1.
The 13 straight wins ties for the seventh longest win streak in program history. It’s also the best start to a season for LCSC since the 2013-14 campaign when the Warriors won their first 14 games.
Saturday’s contest was a defensive struggle until the final quarter when LCSC broke the contest open. Although LCSC only trailed once at 7-6 and had between an 8-12-point lead for most of the first half, the Warriors hit a dry spell in the third quarter and scored only eight points on three baskets. That allowed MSU-Northern to go on an 11-3 run and the cut the lead to 40-35 entering the final quarter.
The Warrior offense, led by senior guard Natahnee Spencer, came to life in the fourth quarter and when it was all said and done, the Warriors had outscored MSU-Northern 27-7 over the final 10 minutes.
“I really liked our resilience tonight,” LCSC coach Brian Orr said. “I liked how we kept attacking. Obviously in the first half both teams struggled putting the ball in the basket. I thought we had a lot of good shots, good looks, but we had a hard time making those shots.”
Spencer hit a 3-pointer to start the final quarter and spark a 13-0 run. Senior Caelyn Orlandi and freshman Jansen Edminston also hit 3-pointers to help LCSC push the lead to 53-35. MSU-Northern could get no closer than 13 the rest of the way as Spencer hit two more 3-pointers in the quarter to finish with a game-high 20 points.
“Natahnee knocking those 3s down was big,” Orr said. “The thing that we hope is that our system just keeps getting better and better and better as the game goes on. We want to keep playing our game and taking our shots. Natahnee gave us a spark and got us going again.”
Junior post Brittany Tackett added 10 of her 15 points in the final quarter and finished the game 7-of-8 from the field. Spencer was 7-of-13, including 6-of-12 from the 3-point line.
Orlandi and Megan Risinger also had strong games. Orlandi finished with nine points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, while Risinger had nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Their efforts helped LCSC to a 44-37 advantage on the boards.
LCSC, which forced 16 turnovers, held MSU-Northern to just 13-of-52 from the field for 25 percent. LCSC mixed up a 2-3 matchup zone with man-to-man defenses, and both gave the Skylights fits.
“I thought our defense was really good all night long,” Orr said. “They got some shots on us but I really liked the way we attacked them. But I also know this team (the Skylights) can shoot a lot better. I know there was a few possessions where it was just Fool’s Gold on defense because they had wide open looks and failed to knock them down.”
It was only the second time this season MSU-Northern has been held to less than 66 points in a game.
“We always talk about champions have poise at tough times,” Orr said. “I thought our girls showed that tonight.”
It was the third big win over a Top 25 team this season for LCSC. Two weeks ago, LCSC won at No. 14-ranked The Master’s 78-59, and then beat No. 18 Great Falls 99-74 Thursday. In the three games, LCSC has won by an average of 23 points per game.
“We would like to think that every game we play we should be able to make a statement, depending on who it is,” Orr said. “But it means a lot more when you are playing a top-ranked team.”
The Warriors only have three games left in the month of December and don’t return to action for nearly two weeks. LCSC next plays at Whitworth in Spokane on Dec. 16 and then has an exhibition game at the University of Idaho on Dec. 27. The Warriors then resume Frontier Conference play on Dec. 31 at home at 3:30 p.m. at the LCSC Activity Center.
