LEWISTON, ID – A last-second shot by No. 21 Oregon Tech’s Olivia Sprague was the dagger on Saturday when the Owls defeated No. 15 LC State 65-62 in Lewiston. Kendall Wallace highlighted the Warrior offense with 19 points to lead four in double digits.
LC State controlled the first 10 minutes of the contest before the OIT defense held the Warriors to seven points in the second quarter. The second half was an even match that was defined by the buzzer beater.
“A tough one for our team tonight,” coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “Extremely difficult to play tough teams back-to-back and unfortunately, we had a bad quarter we couldn’t come back from. This game comes down to possessions, and we just didn’t get the last one to go our way.”
The loss moves the Warriors to 10-4 overall and 4-2 in CCC action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wallace opened the contest with four straight points before a three-point play by Payton Hymas had the lead at 7-2 at 6:31. OIT answered to pull ahead 9-7, but a bucket by Camden Barger kickstarted a 15-5 run that had the Warriors ahead 22-14 after 10 minutes.
The Owls had the momentum to start the second quarter and held LC State off the board until 5:33. A 12-1 run had OIT in front 26-23 at 5:21 and the deficit sat at 34-29 at the half.
Sitara Byrd scored four points to get the offense going in the third quarter and five points from Hymas had the game tied 38-38 at 5:58. Wallace and Darian Herring continued the back-and-forth before a late run by OIT made it 51-44 Owls with 10 minutes to play.
Wallace sparked a run of six points with a 3-pointer at 3:49 and free throws by Herring and Wallace put LC State in front 58-57 at 2:52. The Owls pulled ahead 62-58, but back-to-back baskets by Wallace and Hymas evened the score 62-62. OIT’s Sprague netted the game winner with one second on the clock.
STAT RECAP
Wallace led all scorers with 19 points. She drained three of LC State’s four 3-pointers. Herring added 16 points with a team-high eight rebounds, Hymas scored 12 and Byrd tallied 11 with seven boards.
“We definitely had some positives from the game and Kendall Wallace did a great job and had a great fourth quarter for us,” Orlandi added. “Payton Hymas scored when we needed her to, Sitara crashed the glass and Darian did a great job of attacking. Camden Barger is playing great defense and provides a spark for us when she is on the court.”
Jozie Ramos and Tatum Schmerbach led OIT with 17 points each while Sprague contributed 13 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Avery Andrews led the Owls with 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT
LC State hits the road next weekend for games at Bushnell (Ore.) and Corban (Ore.).
