LEWISTON, ID – No. 13 LC State Women’s Basketball used an 18-point run in the fourth quarter and solid defense to defeat No. 17 Eastern Oregon 68-59 in the P1FCU Activity Center on Saturday. The Warriors went 13-for-13 at the free throw line in the process to tie the program record for the most made foul shots without a miss in a single game.
The LC State defense held a sharp-shooting EOU team to 33.8% from the field and the Warriors shot 56.8% as a team. Payton Hymas led the Warriors with 17 points on 6-fpr-8 shooting and Lindsey Wilson led the team at the line with 6-for-6 free throws.
“What a fantastic win for this Warrior team. I am so incredibly proud of them and so proud to be their coach,” coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “Our shot selection was great, our field goal percentage was great, and we made free throws tonight. The 18-point run was truly remarkable, and I personally was having so much fun with this team today. A collectively great job for our Warrior team and we get to enjoy this win and get ready for a tough road trip next week.”
The victory has the LC State record at 16-4 on the season and tied for the top spot in the Cascade Conference at 10-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tallies by Sitara Byrd, Wilson and Darian Herring gave LC State a 6-4 edge after five minutes, and Herring and Hymas pushed the score to 12-10 by 2:01 in the first frame. EOU closed out the first quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 16-14 lead.
Tatum Brager and Camden Barger put LC State back in front 18-16 two minutes into the second quarter. Brager and Hymas combined for a short seven-point run for a 27-21 advantage at 3:00, and back-to-back buckets by Byrd closed out the half with the Warriors in front 31-29.
The back-and-forth continued into the third quarter before a triple by Hymas and layup by Byrd gave LC State a 46-41 edge at 4:09. A basket by Camden Barger and free throws by Wilson kept the narrow lead at 50-48 with 10 minutes to play.
After EOU scored to tie the game 50-50, the Warriors went on an 18-point rampage. Herring sparked the massive run with an and-1, Hymas scored four and back-to-back 3-pointers by Kendall Wallace kept the scoring going. Byrd closed the stretch with a triple to give LC State a 68-50 cushion left to play. The Warrior defense held the Mountaineers off for the rest of the contes to secure the victory.
STAT RECAP
Hymas went 6-for-8 from the field to lead LC State with 17 points. Herring added 13 points with six assists and four rebounds, and Byrd scored 11 points. Wilson added 10 points with six free throws.
Brager was 3-for-3 from the field for her seven points, and Wallace drained a pair of clutch 3s during the fourth quarter.
“We had multiple players have huge moments for us. I thought both Tatum Brager and Kendall Wallace scored when we really needed it and gave us huge lifts,” Orlandi said. “Payton Hymas was great off the ball and found ways to cut to the basket and score lay ups. Darian balanced scoring and passing so well and Sitara Byrd did Sitara things.”
