PLAINVIEW, Texas – The Warrior women are moving on to the championship game of the 2022 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship Opening Round, presented by Ballogy, after defeating MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 64-45 on Friday night. Hannah Broyles led No. 19 LC State with 18 points in the contest, and freshman Ellie Sander made her mark on the big stage with an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.
The Warriors will take on host No. 8 Wayland Baptist on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT.
“I thought our defense was the difference,” Head Coach Brian Orr said. “We did a great job of contesting shots and we were able to force several turnovers. Offensively, it wasn't always pretty, but we had some good moments and several players stepped up and hit some big shots when we needed them. Our transition game was the best part of our offense. However, we have to do a better job of moving the ball. I'm not sure why we have gotten away from it, but it something we need to bring back. Hopefully it starts tomorrow.”
LC State took control early with the first seven points of the contest. Stevens wasted little time draining a 3 to put the Warriors on the board in the first minute before Maddie Holm dropped in back-to-back buckets. Rachel Schroeder hit a 3 before Ellie Sander and Adyson Clabby found the basket to end the first frame with LC ahead 14-6.
Sander and Stevens drained two straight 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the second quarter, and Hannah Broyles joined in to make it 23-11. Sara Muehlhausen made it five points straight for LC State and the Warriors took a 28-19 lead into the break.
Broyles and Heidi Sellmann opened the scoring for LC in the second half. Broyles tallied an and-one play to push the advantage to 40-29 by 4:33, and Sellmann added on to keep the momentum going for the Warriors. LC carried a 44-35 lead into the final 10 minutes.
Broyles stayed hot in the first 10 seconds of the fourth frame when she drained a jumper to make it 46-35. A 3 by the junior was followed by a jumper by Holm to push the margin to 51-37 with seven minutes to play.
Madeline Weaver joined in on the scoring action with a layup on an assist from Sander as the Warriors continued to roll. Sander drained a 3 to spark a short five-point run as LC State closed out the win.
Broyles led all scorers with a career-high tying 18 points to go with five rebounds and three steals. Sander notched her first double-double with 11 points and a career-best 11 rebounds.
The Warriors will face host No. 8 Wayland Baptist, seeded third in the Duer Bracket, on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT. The Flying Queens cruised past Our Lady of the Lake 89-68 to advance.
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