SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The 2020-21 season came to an end on Friday for the LC State Women's Basketball team, but the No. 22 Warrior women did not go down without a fight. The Warriors faced off with the third-seeded Campbellsville University Lady Tigers in the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City Iowa, and fell 69-53 in the 2021 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Round of 16.
After a rough first half for LC State, the Warriors rallied to bring the game within reach in the second and outscored the Lady Tigers 21-15 in the fourth quarter. The offense came just a little too late, however, as the Warriors could not overcome the work Campbellsville had done in the first.
"I was really proud of our team," Head Coach
Brian Orr said. "Not just for their efforts this game, but all season long they put their hearts into everything we did. Basketball is a game of makes and unfortunately, we struggled offensively, especially the first half. Most of that was caused by Campbellsville's defense. Their pressure really put us back on our heels.
The Lady Tigers jumped out to a 7-2 lead before expanding the advantage to 11-3. A bucket by Kiara Burlage made it an 11-5 contest as the Campbellsville offense continued to roll. LC trailed 18-7 after the first 10 minutes.
A steal by Abby Farmer transitioned in a 3-pointer from Burlage to make it a 10-point game, 20-10, three minutes in, but back-to-back baskets by CU turned it into a 15-point deficit. By the end of the first half, Campbellsville led 36-16.
Peyton Souvenir hit a 3 to open the second half before draining another at 4:45, but the Lady Tigers maintained a 22-point lead, 54-32, heading into the final quarter.
Abbie Johnson and Souvenir led the Warrior offense down the stretch with four points from Johnson and back-to-back triples by Souvenir. Johnson drained a 3 at 4:26 before completing an and-one play to make it a 63-51 game. LC was unable to overcome the Lady Tigers and fell 69-53.
"The second half we were more aggressive and played with more confidence," Orr continued. "But our first-half deficit was just too much to overcome. In the end, our inability to control the defensive boards was a big reason why they are moving on and we are heading home."
Johnson led all scorers with 22 points in the contest and also grabbed nine rebounds. Souvenir had a strong second half and finished the game with 13 points, including four 3-pointers. Burlage added 11 points.
LC State finished the game with a .339 shooting percentage but struggled at the boards. CU outrebounded the Warriors 50-26 and grabbed 22 offensive rebounds.
The Warriors end the 2020-21 season with a 14-6 record.
It didn't end the way we wanted, but I had a blast coaching this team," Orr said. "They are all such great people. I can only hope they had as much fun as I did."
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