Lady Devils cruise through opener
Friday, February 29, 2008 5:30 AM PST
By Rick McCorkle
rmccorkle@tdn.com
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E-mail this articleKENNEWICK - With five minutes remaining and a 20-point lead in hand, the starting five for the Lower Columbia College Lady Devils were sitting at the end of the bench soaking up an opening-round victory over Linn-Benton in the NWAACC Women's Basketball Championships.
At the other end of the bench, LCC coach Chad Meadors was nervous.
"I don't feel comfortable with a 20-point lead with five minutes left, and I want the girls to go out and play the next possession and make it a grind for the other team," Meadors said. "Every team here has the ability to make 10 straight shots and make it a tie game with a minute to go. I want us to play every possession, execute to perfection and leave it all on the floor."
LCC made 55 percent of its shots in the first half en route to a 15-point halftime lead, and rolled to an 81-59 victory over the Roadrunners at the Toyota Center on Thursday. The Lady Devils (22-6) play Spokane in a quarterfinal game at 6 tonight.
"We made almost 50 percent of our shots for the game and 85 percent of our free throws, and I don't know of too many teams who will beat us with those types of numbers," Meadors said of the Devils' 46 percent shooting for the game (26-of-56). "We've talked a few times during the season about the way we play defense, and if we make our shots we're pretty good."
Five LCC players scored in double figures. Katie Garcin made all three of her 3-point attempts to finish with a game-high 19 points, Kelsey Forrest knocked down 14 points and Nadra Evans added 12. Rene'e Evans came off the bench for 11 points, and Kourtney Craft went 2-for-2 from outside the arc and finished with 10 points.
Nadra Evans had 10 points, seven steals and six rebounds.
"We handled the ball well and did a good job with our shooting," Nadra Evans said. "Coach got us ready for this game with a good game plan, and we knew everything there was to know about them (the Roadrunners)."
The Lady Devils faced Linn-Benton during the preseason, and notched a 73-63 victory on Dec. 12 in Albany, Ore.
Linn-Benton led 7-6 with 17:20 remaining in the first half, the last time the Roadrunners would have an advantage. LCC went on a 19-4 run, which included holding L-B scoreless for a four-minute span while taking a 25-11 lead. The Roadrunners snapped their scoreless skein with consecutive layups from Jessica Vorpahl, but LCC countered with seven unanswered points, including a three-point play from Rene'e Evans for a 32-15 lead.
LCC made 11 steals in the first half and forced 17 turnovers, which were converted into half of its 50 points in the half. The Lady Devils also netted 15-of-19 free throws (79 percent) in the opening half. The Devils finished with 23 steals and forced 37 turnovers that were converted into 35 points.
"We dispatched them (the Roadrunners) and took them out of their offense," Meadors said. "We did a good job on the defensive end, and offensively we executed as well as we have all season. This is probably our most complete game of the season."
Jessi Hanna added six steals and dished five assists, Kourtney Craft made three steals, and Rene'e Evans snagged seven rebounds and made three steals.
"We did a great job and I'm very pleased with our effort," Meadors added. "But it's only one game. Now we've got Spokane."
Devils 81, Roadrunners 59
LINN-BENTON (59) -
Jessica Vorpahl 14, Destiny Neuenschwander 9. Kati Quigley 9. Katelyn White 8, Emily Irwin 6, Lindsey Duval 4, Luci DeLong 4, Bailey Johnson 3, Amanda Douglass 2, Amanda Fox 0.
LOWER COLUMBIA (81) -
Katie Garcin 19, Nadra Evans 12, Heidi Jackson 7, Holly Weston 6, Jessi Hanna 2, Kelsey Forrest 14, Rene'e Evans 11, Kourtney Craft 10, Kasey Craft 0, Jordan Budd 0, Megan Holmes 0, Kristina Craft 0.
Halftime:
LCC 50, LBCC 35.
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