Box Score LEWISTON, Idaho – The 21st-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team saw its six-game winning streak with a 57-50 loss on the road against No. 7 Lewis-Clark State College on Thursday evening.
The game between the top two teams in the Frontier Conference saw the home-standing Warriors draw even in the standing with Westminster at 4-1 in league play. The Griffins are now 11-7 overall while LCSC is 18-2.
Neither team would hold a lead of more than five points over the first 17 minutes of the contest. After
Nicole Yazzie made a three to cut the deficit to 20-17 with 2:59 to play, LCSC finished the half on a 10-2 run that was sparked by eight straight points to lead 30-19 at intermission.
The first seven minutes of the second half was all Westminster. The Griffins outscored LCSC 16-4 during that time and a bucket from
Dana Bates with 13:11 remaining put the Griffins on top 35-34. LCSC answered with seven straight points to open up a six-point advantage and would never trail again. The Warriors went 5-of-6 at the foul line in the final minute to seal the victory.
LCSC is second in the nation in field goal defense and they showed it on Thursday. Westminster shot just 31.3% from the floor in the game. The Griffins entered 10th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 35.4%, but they were just 6-of-32 (18.8%) on Thursday. They did finish with a 36-29 rebounding edge and they turned 16 offensive rebounds into 13 second chance points.
Bates led the Griffins in scoring with 17 points on a 6-of-11 shooting night. The senior also grabbed six rebounds and made two triples.
Nicole Yazzie added 11 points and four assists with
Allie Eastman adding nine points off the bench.
Cydney Tibbitts grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds and scored five points.
Brittaney Niebergall led all scorers with a career-high 24 points for the Warriors. Kirsi Voshell added 14 points and 14 rebounds with Tasha Bishop chipping in 12 points.
Westminster will conclude the first half of the conference schedule with two road games next weekend. The trip begins on January 27 against the University of Great Falls.
