LEWISTON, Idaho – Just a couple missed shots in the final two minutes of play were the difference in a tight game between (19) University of Providence women's basketball and (RV) Lewis-Clark State College that saw the Warriors come out on top 58-51.
 
UP was down 3 points with just under 30 seconds left and drew a charge to gain possession and a chance to tie the game. During the ensuing possession, a near turnover forced the Lady Argos to scramble and suddenly, junior post Tristan Murphy had picked up her dribble and was getting double-teamed outside the 3-point arc.
 
She was able to launch a skip pass across court to sophomore Jenna Randich who quickly swung the ball to freshman point guard Emilee Maldonado who was open in the short corner. She launched the shot but it was a few inches off, hit the rim, and LCSC grabbed the rebound to essentially close the game. 
 
LCSC went 4-4 from the free-throw line in the final 13 seconds to truly finish it off.
 
Just like the last time UP traveled to Lewiston, a game UP won 73-56, the Lady Argos got off to a hot start. Long 2-point shots from Maldonado and Murphy and a transition three from senior guard Stephanie McDonagh put UP ahead 7-0 after the first two and a half minutes.
 
Unlike the last time, the Warriors quickly responded and that 7 point lead would be the largest of the game for the Lady Argos. LCSC shot 53 percent from the floor in the first quarter, while UP made 40 percent and that was enough to put the Warriors ahead 17-14 after the first 10 minutes.
 
LC State continued to outshoot the Lady Argos in the second quarter, and matched UP's 7 point largest lead five times including at the end of the first half.
 
The Lady Argos played a masterful first few minutes of the second half. They forced the Warriors into turnovers on each of their first three possessions and Maldonado and McDonagh both hit threes to pull within 1. A layup from freshman post Parker Esary with 6:52 on the clock gave UP its first lead since midway through the first quarter.
 
That lead lasted a little over a minute of game time, and the Lady Argos held a brief 1-point lead later in the period, but LC State still had a 45-43 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
In the final 10 minutes, the Lady Argos managed to tie the score at 47-47 and again at 49-49 but could never get that last combination of a stop and a score to retake the lead.
 
While the Lady Argos continued a habit of turning the ball over too many times, losing it on 18 occasions, they actually forced the Warriors into more at 19. The difference was that LC State turned UP's turnovers into 25 points, while the Lady Argos managed only 13 points off of LCSC mistakes.
 
Esary was a load for the Warriors to handle throughout the game, but particularly in the second half, scoring 7 points and grabbing 6 rebounds on the way to her fifth career double-double with 13 and 10. She also led the Lady Argos with 3 steals.  
 
UP's senior guard Stephanie McDonagh shot well below her season average of 53.9 percent, hitting 5-15 from the floor, but she still came a couple board she of her own double-double with 12 points and 8 rebounds. The brings her streak of consecutive games with 10 or more points to 22.
 
The Lady Argo's record is now 16-8 (7-6) and the team has slipped to fourth in the Frontier Conference standings. It doesn't get easier for UP either with a road contest against the third team in the conference University of Montana Western on Saturday, February 10 at 5:30 p.m.