HAVRE, Montana – Kiara Burlage etched her named in the Lewis-Clark State Women’s Basketball record books with 18 made free throws to set a single-game record. She scored a career-high 34 points in the contest to help push the Warriors to a 90-84 victory and the season sweep of the Montana State-Northern Skylights. The Warriors fought back after trailing at the half to record their second straight comeback win.
“We are glad that this is was our last game against the Skylights because every game got harder to win,” Head Coach Brian Orr said. “The third one was a back-and-forth affair and it seemed like we were playing from behind most of the afternoon.”
Jansen Edmiston evened the score 2-2 and back-to-back 3-pointers by Peyton Souvenir put LC State in front 8-2 ay 8:18. MSUN tied things up 12-12 midway through the opening quarter, but free throws from Burlage put the Warriors back up by two.
Abbie Johnson took a pass from Souvenir and dropped it in to push the lead to 16-12 before a 10-point run gave the Skylights a 22-16 advantage. Maddie Holm grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back to snap the MSUN run to close the first frame.
Burlage made it four-straight for LC State to open the second quarter and bring the Warriors within two at 22-20. Holm answered a Skylight basket with a 3 to make it 24-23, and Sara Muehlhausen put up a big block and grabbed a rebound to give LC State the ball. A three-point play by Burlage knotted things up 26-26 at 7:23.
Callie Stevens brought the Warriors within three (31-28) at 6:12, and a steal by Heidi Sellmann got the ball back to Holm who promptly drained a 3 to tie the game with 5:03 on the clock. MSUN jumped ahead by six, but another 3 from Holm and a layup from Burlage brought LC State back within one at 39-38 in the last minute and a half. Hannah Broyles kept the Warriors within one with a layup in the final minute, and a pair of free throws by Edmiston had LC State trailing 43-42 at the half.
Both Holm and Burlage had 11 points at the half. Nine of Holm’s points came from 3-pointers.
Johnson put the Warriors in front quickly to open the second half with a 15-foot jumper. Burlage answered an MSUN basket to make it 46-45, but the Skylights continued to battle back. A six-point run by MSUN had the Warriors trailing 54-48 before a 3 by Farmer cut the deficit to 54-51 at 6:23.
Edmiston went coast-to-coast to cut into the MSUN lead and make it 60-57 with 3:16 left in the quarter. A basket by Holm and 3 by Souvenir made it a one-point game with the Warriors trailing 63-62 heading into the final frame.
A free throw by Burlage tied the game at 63 each to start the fourth quarter, and Edmiston put LC State in the lead with a 3 to make it 68-65 at 8:41. Burlage added to the advantage with a jumper at 8:09, but a 3-point for MSUN evened the score 70-70 with 6:50 to play.
Four straight points from Burlage and Johnson put the Warriors ahead 74-72, and Burlage dropped in a layup to keep the lead at 76-74 with just over three minutes to play. A three-point play by Johnson made it 79-74, and a pair of free throws by Burlage gave LC State an 81-76 advantage with two minutes to go.
Burlage set a new career-high with a free throw at 1:08, giving her 27 points on the day, and a second foul shot gave the Warriors an 83-78 lead. Burlage ended the game with a run of 13 straight made free throws and a single game record of 18. Edmiston made one from the foul line to end the game with the Warriors in front 90-84.
Burlage scored a career-high 34 points, including the 18 free throws (18-for-19). Her 19 attempts is tied for fourth in a game. She was 8-for-14 from the field.
Johnson posted 15 points for the second game in a row, and freshman Holm tallied a career-high 13 points and nine rebounds to lead the team at the boards. Edmiston also scored double-digits with 10 points.
“We had different players step up and make big plays on both ends of the court,” Orr said. “They couldn’t match up against Kiara, and Abbie Johnson had another effective scoring game. We got a shot in the arm when Maddie came in the game. She hit some big shots and led us in rebounding. It was a total team win.”
The Warriors shot 46.9 percent from the field (30-for-64) and went 22-for-26 from the free throw line. They tallied eight steals and forced 15 MSUN turnovers.