ALBANY – The Roadrunner women captured two huge wins at home, the first on Feb. 11 against one of the NWAC South’s top teams in Umpqua, 75-68. They followed that up with a Saturday evening 76-58 handling of Clark on Feb. 14.
The team has sprung themselves into an interesting position in the division as things start to heat up before the playoffs.
Five players in double figures with one over 20 is a sound recipe for winning a college basketball game at any level; this happened in both games for the Roadrunners.
Against Umpqua, command of the game bounced back and forth but LB tightened up when it mattered, complimented most by 23 points from guard Sadie Wendring off the bench.
Basically, all of the team’s guards got involved – Lainie Bateman had 13, Nalia Wagar contributed 10, while Anneka Steen had a near triple-double, adding 10 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in a team-high 40 minutes. Zoee Howard also put up 10 points in 15 effective minutes, shooting 5-5 from the field.
The Beaks defense tied things together – the Riverhawks took 12 more shots than Linn-Benton, but the home team ended the game with one more made field goal.
On Valentine’s Day against Clark, the Penguins proximity to LBCC in the standings made winning crucial. The Beaks showed up, holding their opponents to a less-than-stellar 23% shooting and 3-24 on three-point attempts.
Bateman exploded for 28 points and 11 rebounds in the game. Wendring added 15, Lydia Gray had 11, while Wagar and Steen both had 10. Steen also contributed a whopping 18 rebounds.
The Roadrunners finished the game with 66 team rebounds spread across just six players, only one taller than six foot.
The game was competitive until the fourth quarter, when several Penguin cold spells, no pun intended, allowed LB to soar to a win without much late-game stress.
Now boasting a 6-6 conference record and holding fifth position in the South (the top four teams make the postseason), the final four games of the season have become paramount for the squad. First things first, the Beaks will try to sweep their current three-game home stretch on Monday, Feb. 16, against Mt. Hood. The game tips off at 6 p.m.
