LEWISTON, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) fought off run after Southern Oregon run and finally pulled away for an 80-69 semifinal victory in the Cascade Conference Championships presented by U.S. Bank on Saturday night at the P1FCU Activity Center.
The Warriors (28-2 overall) – ranked No. 10 in the NAIA and seeded No. 2 in the tournament after finishing as CCC regular season co-champions – fired on all cylinders offensively while shooting 52 percent field. All-conference performers Maddie Holm and Callie Stevens both went 6-of-11 to score 16 points, and Holm pulled down 11 rebounds while Stevens accumulated five assists and three steals.
Kami Walk carried the No. 3-seeded Raiders (23-7) with a season-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting with six 3-pointers and eight rebounds. But, after
Kalei Iwami's four-point play shrunk the deficit to 59-55 on the opening possession of the fourth quarter, it was all LCSC.
The Raiders, who came back to defeat College of Idaho in Wednesday's quarterfinal round, will await Thursday's NAIA National Tournament selection show to find out if their season will continue. They're in strong position to receive an at-large bid in the 64-team field, sitting just outside of the final Top 25 coaches' poll at No. 28 overall. If they qualify, they'll be in the NAIA Opening Round – a misnomer, considering it consists of the Rounds of 64 and 32 – on March 7-8.
Against the Warriors, they cut a 13-2 lead to two points in the first quarter; a 33-19 lead to two in the second; and a 50-37 lead to four when Iwami converted her four-point play. The Warriors immediately answered the final rally with a 13-3 run highlighted by a pair of Stevens jumpers. The reigning CCC Player of the Year scored 10 points in the fourth.
Next to Walk, Iwami had 10 points with a 3-of-5 mark from downtown and
Makayla Scurlock totaled eight off the bench.
Danasia Allison and
Clara Robbins scored seven apiece.
Of the Raiders' seven losses, six have come against teams among the current top-12 in the rankings – including three to LCSC.
The Warriors will visit Eastern Oregon for Tuesday's championship games. Both teams have already secured automatic national tournament bids.