Warriors' hoops season ends in Sioux City

Mar. 16—Ellie Sander did not want her college basketball career to end on Saturday.

Despite her best efforts, the No. 25 Lewis-Clark State Warriors' 2025 campaign, and her college career, ended with an 11-point loss to the No. 5 Briar Cliff Chargers in the second round of the NAIA Tournament.

The senior from Spokane dropped her game-high 17 points in the final 22 minutes, sinking a pair of 3-pointers and drilling each of her five free throws to give the sixth-seeded Warrior women's basketball team a chance against third-seeded Briar Cliff.

Sander's heroics and the Warrior bench's 21 points were not enough to redeem their 28 turnovers as LC State lost to the Chargers 71-60 in the NAIA Tournament Round of 32 on Saturday in Sioux City, Iowa.

"I think we beat ourselves today," LC State coach Caelyn Orlandi said. "Unfortunately, turnovers cost you games.

"I'm sad we couldn't get it done for all three of our seniors."

Kennedy Benne led the host Chargers with 16 points, the majority of which came from the foul line where the senior from nearby Oakland, Neb., made 9-of-12 free throws in front of an infused Briar Cliff home crowd.

After winning two tournament games in its home gym, Briar Cliff will not have to travel far. The Tyson Events Center in downtown Sioux City, Iowa — a 10-minute drive from the Charger Dome — will host the remainder of the NAIA Tournament, beginning with the Sweet 16 on Thursday.

Bench lights a spark

The Warriors started the game cold from the field, posting just four points in the first quarter and falling behind 12-4 after 10 minutes.

Then, LC State sophomore Grace Beardin of Orofino sparked the Warrior resurgence.

Beardin fought her way to the foul line where she sank two free throws to open the second quarter.

Then, she buried a pair of 3-pointers within the next three minutes. Beardin's eight points came in a fewer-than-five-minute span at the start of the second quarter. In 16 total minutes on the court, she grabbed two offensive boards and dished out two assists.

Also aiding the Warriors' comeback was 6-foot post Lindsey Wilson, who added nine points and six rebounds.

Beardin's second trey and a pair of Wilson layups constituted a 7-0 LC State run that tied the game at 20-20 with 4:38 left in the second quarter.

No starter had more than three points in the first half but the Warriors still led Briar Cliff 30-26 at halftime thanks to huge contributions from the LC State bench.

"When Grace (Beardin) came in, she turned the gig around for us," Orlandi said. "Lindsey (Wilson) came in the first half, had three offensive rebounds for putback points. She was really big, and that gave the whole team confidence. Both those two coming in, knocking down shots just gave everybody that little confidence boost that they needed."

The Warriors led for the first nine minutes of the second half but fell into a nearly five-minute scoring drought which Briar Cliff used to go on a 7-0 run and take a one-point lead with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.

LC State trailed by no more than two possessions until the 2:40 mark of the fourth quarter when Briar Cliff's Grace Flanagan sank her second 3-pointer to put the Chargers up by eight.

The trey was part of a 12-5 Briar Cliff run to close the game.

Seniors' last hurrah

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Sander and fellow senior Mataya Green made a slew of plays in the second half to keep the Warriors' hopes of advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in three years alive.

With the Warriors trailing by three early in the fourth quarter, Sander cut to her right, pushed the ball toward the glass off her right hand as she fell out of bounds and slid on her back along the hardwood, looking up just in time to see the ball fall through the nylon. She drew a foul on her shot and hit the free throw for a three-point play the old-fashioned way and a 46-46 tie.

Those kinds of hustle plays have defined Sander's four-year LC State career, which included more than 1,000 points and over 500 rebounds.

Green tallied six points and eight rebounds for LC State with two of her points coming off a well-placed pass from sophomore Darian Herring from beyond the arc to Green's hands in the paint. Green's make tied the game at 51-all with 7:27 left.

"Both of those players are Warriors through and through," Orlandi said. "They've had fantastic careers here."

Warriors' season in review

In Year 2 of Orlandi's tenure, the Warriors are going home following a Round 2 loss after dropping a three-point Round 2 contest to Jamestown (N.D.) last season.

"One game, one moment, doesn't define this team and the team success they had this season," Orlandi said. "I'm extremely proud of how hard they've worked all year. Twenty-six wins is nothing to be ashamed of."

LC State started the season 10-0 and only lost to teams in the NAIA Tournament field. The Warriors fell to Eastern Oregon, College of Idaho and Oregon Tech before beating each in the second regular season meeting and besting Oregon Tech a second time in the conference semifinals.

The Warriors lost three times, including the conference final to Southern Oregon, the No. 2 team in the nation and bounced back with a first round NAIA Tournament win over Columbia on Friday.

While the Warriors lose seniors Sander and Green, they return an experienced roster next season with five seniors and three juniors, including the All-Cascade Conference honoree core of Sitara Byrd, Herring and Hymas.

Orlandi said she and her staff will look to sign several more players to fill out the roster and build on the winning culture of Warrior women's basketball.

"We have a culture and a system here in Warrior basketball, and we're just gonna continue it on — continue the culture, continue the winning ways, continue to push the basketball and recruit to that," Orlandi said. "And obviously every year, plan to make it farther than the year before."

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (26-7)

Sander 5-10 5-5 17, Byrd 2-8 0-0 6, Green 3-5 0-0 6, Hymas 1-7 6-6 8, Herring 1-4 0-0 2, Wilson 4-5 1-3 9, Barger 1-1 0-0 2, Wallace 0-0 0-0 0, Brager 1-4 0-0 2, Beardin 2-4 2-2 8. Totals 20-48, 14-16 60.

BRIAR CLIFF (28-5)

Benne 3-6 9-12 16, Langel 1-2 0-0 2, Webster 2-4 1-2 5, McNair 4-16 6-6 14, Flanagan 2-6 0-0 6, Heineman 1-2 1-2 4, Reinoehl 0-2 0-0 0, Mongan 5-9 2-2 15, Sodeman 4-9 1-2 9. Totals 22-56 20-26 71.

LCSC 4 26 13 17—60

BCU 13 13 16 29—71

3-point goals — LCSC 6-20 (Sander 2-4, Byrd 2-6, Hymas 0-4, Brager 0-2, Beardin 2-4), BCU 7-23 (Benne 1-2, McNair 0-7, Flanagan 2-5, Heineman 1-2, Mongan 3-4, Sodeman 0-3). Assists — LCSC 12 (Hymas 5), BCU 13 (Six with 2), Fouled out — LCSC (Green, Sander), BCU None. Rebounds — LCSC 31 (Green 8), BCU 27 (McNair 4). Total fouls — LCSC 19, BCU 20. Technical fouls — None.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com, or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.

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