RIO GRANDE, OH– No. 20 Rio Grande (Ohio) handed No. 7 LC State its first loss of the season on Saturday in a tight 81-73 contest to wrap up the Bevo Francis Classic. Darian Herring had a strong showing with 19 points and 12 rebounds, but shooting struggles plagued the Warriors on the road.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t make enough baskets to win today on the road,” coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “We had enough attempts but didn’t capitalize. We had some positive things come from the game today and we get to carry those with us the rest of the season. Lots to improve upon next week at practice too. The season is long, and we didn’t lose to a bad team. They were very good and will be at the national tournament.”
The Warriors enter the final part of non-conference play with a 5-1 record overall and will face No. 14 Carroll (Mont.) and No. 17 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) next weekend on the road.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Rio started hot with an 11-4 lead after two minutes before baskets by Herring, Payton Hymas and Byrd cut the difference to three, 13-10, by 4:33. A triple by Tatum Brager and layup by Lindsey Wilson had the score knotted 17-17 and foul shots by Herring kept the score close with the Warriors within five, 25-20, after 10 minutes.
The Red Storm stretched the difference to 27-20 in the second frame before a bucket by Herring and 3-pointer from Kendall Wallace cut the deficit to 27-25 at 7:40. A layup by Wilson at 5:00 kept LC State within three, 33-30, and a triple by Brager had the score at 38-35. Brager brought the Warriors within one with a layup, but another rally by Rio had the Red Storm up 42-37 with under a minute to play. Free throws by Camden Barger sent LC State to the locker room trailing 42-39.
Rio opened the second half on an 8-0 run before Herring stopped the run with a basket. A pair of layups by Wilson and tallies by Hymas and Brager kept the difference within 10. Grace Beardin netted a 3 and Ella Nelson fought her way to the basket to make it a six-point deficit, 60-54, at 2:02. Rio surged to grow its lead to 67-58 with 10 minutes to play.
Elle Brockman and Wallace knocked down a pair of 3s midway through the final quarter and a layup by Herring had LC State within seven, 77-70, with 3:12 on the clock. Barger netted a 3-pointer in the final two minutes, but the Warriors were unable to overtake Rio.
STAT RECAP
Herring had a standout performance with 19 points and 12 rebounds to go with four assists, two steals and two blocks. She was 8-for-16 from the field. Brager and Wallace each scored 10 points while Byrd, Wilson and Nelson each grabbed five boards.
Hymas dished out six assists and Beardin had four steals.
“I thought our bench gave us great minutes today and came ready to compete,” Orlandi added. “We have a quick turnaround before we go take on two Top 25 teams in Helena next weekend.”
UP NEXT
The Warriors continue non-conference play next weekend at the Caroll College Thanksgiving Classic in Helena, Mont.
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