by DILLON, Mont. – If this was a test, the NAIA’s No. 2-ranked Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team aced it.
The Warriors, who have rarely been in tight contests this season, found themselves in a see-saw battle with Montana Western on Saturday, but answered the call when needed with a 34-point final quarter to claim an 83-78 Frontier Conference win.
The victory was the 17th straight win to start the season for LCSC, an all-time best in the program. It is also the second-longest win streak overall in program history, trailing only the 22 straight wins in the 2006-07 campaign.
“It was a huge challenge to come back and find a way to win,” LCSC coach Brian Orr said. “This was a big win. It’s always tough to come out and win that second game on the road in this league.”
LCSC defeated Rocky Mountain on Thursday night, but had to hang on to the end after nearly blowing a 19-point lead.
“Thursday night, the fourth quarter was our nemesis,” Orr said. “The fourth quarter today, no question, we were playing our best basketball. I was really impressed by the way our girls handled it. They kept telling me, ‘Coach, we got it.’ ”
LCSC hit 8-of-9 shots at one point during the fourth quarter to take the lead for good. The contest was tied at 56 with 7:27 left, but LCSC proceeded to go on a 15-6 run to open up a 71-62 lead. Western could not get closer than five the rest of the way and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it that close.
LCSC, ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, is now 5-0 in conference play, while Montana Western, which entered the week undefeated, fell to 13-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play. LCSC has a 1.5-game lead in the conference as five of the seven teams have at least two league losses.
As in Thursday’s road win at Rocky Mountain, the Warriors had several players step up at key times. Sophomore post Hailey Turner, who was making her second start in place of injured Megan Risinger, scored eight of her 16 points in the third quarter to keep the Warriors in the game. Senior guard Natahnee Spencer (Nez Perce Tribe) hit back-to-back 3-pointers during the fourth-quarter run and scored 10 of her 14 points in the final period. She also had five assists.
And then there’s senior All-American candidate Caelyn Orlandi, who stepped up big in the fourth quarter as well. Orlandi had 12 of her team-high 23 points in the final 10 minutes. Each time Western tried to make a run, Orlandi responded with a bucket. She finished 8-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-3 from the 3-point line, and added three assists and three rebounds. All of this despite sitting out most of the second quarter in foul trouble.
For the game, LCSC was 28-of-52 from the field and 10-of-18 from the 3-point line. The Warriors also were solid at the foul line with a 17-of-23 effort.
LCSC got off to a solid enough start in the game and eventually led by six twice in the first quarter, the final time at 22-16.
The second quarter was a different story as LCSC missed its first five field goal attempts and managed only a 3-pointer by Lauren Johnson over the first seven minutes. That allowed Western to go on a 15-3 run and take a 34-27 lead.
Orlandi, who had spent most of the second quarter on the bench with two fouls, then re-entered the game and scored a quick bucket to help the Warriors cut the margin to 34-31 at halftime.
The Warriors scored the first four points of the third quarter and took the lead back on a pair of free throws by Brittany Tackett. Turner proceeded to score eight points in the quarter and helped the Warriors to a 49-45 advantage entering the final 10 minutes.
“In the first half they just outhustled us to loose balls and rebounds,” Orr said. “In the second half, we put together a series of stops and took the lead. A big difference for us was the 3-ball. All of our perimeter players hit big 3s.”
The Warriors also played the game without senior starting forward Risinger, who sprained an ankle during earlier this week. Her absence was felt in the first half when LCSC was handled on the glass and had only one offensive rebound. The Warriors did a better job in the second half as Western finished with a 32-29 rebounding edge. Tackett and Turner had five boards apiece to lead LCSC.
Kay Bignell led Western with 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field.
“In the second half they shot 57 percent and we shot 61 percent so I don’t know if there was a lot of defense being played,” Orr said. “We had a hard time guard Bignell. We had a hard time stopping her from getting the ball and scoring. And besides making baskets, she got to the line and made free throws.”
LCSC will be back in action next weekend in a rare back-to-back night league doubleheader at home. On Friday, the Warriors play host to Montana Tech, and then on Saturday Carroll College will be in town. Both contests begin at 5:30 p.m. at the LCSC Activity Center.
