Women's Basketball Goes 2-1 at LCC Holiday Classic

Walla Walla, WA. - Coach Hazeltine and the Women's Basketball program returned to action this weekend after a short Christmas break, traveling up to Longview, WA for the annual Lower Columbia College Holiday Classic Tournament. The tournament marks the last of tournament or round robin play for the Warriors before NWAC East Region action starts on January 8th, 2025, against Spokane Community College. Over the weekend, the Warriors took on Clark College, Chemeketa Community College, and Umpqua Community College, in respective order.

In the tournament opener, the Warriors took on the Penguins of Clark College and got off to a hot start. Brielle Magnuson scored 12 of her 22 points in the first quarter, helping the Warriors to take a ten-point lead into halftime. The ten-point lead proved to be pivotal as the Warriors only outscored the Penguins by one in each of the third and fourth quarters. Coach Hazeltine and the Warriors finished off the win 60-47. Magnuson led all scorers in the contest -  finishing with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Averee Osterhout also added 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in the Warriors' win.

In Game 2 of the tournament, the Warriors faced off against Chemeketa Community College and the Warriors got off to the same start they did on Saturday afternoon. The Warriors held the Storm to just 22 first-half points as Brielle Magnuson logged 14 of the Warriors' 27 points after two quarters of play. The second half was a different story and was split by the Warriors and Storm. In the third, the Warriors extended their lead by scoring 21 and holding the Storm to just 5 points. In the final quarter of play, the Storm "stormed" back, scoring 22 points and holding the Warriors to single digits. The Warriors held off the late surge by the Storm and finished the win, 57-49.

After going 2-0 in the first two games of the tournament, the Warriors finished off the Lower Columbia College Holiday Classic by taking on the Umpqua Riverhawks for the second time in this preseason. The Warriors got off to a slow shooting start in Game 3, only scoring 19 points in the first half of play. Even with the slow start offensively, the Warriors were only down 4 points going into halftime. The second half is when Umpqua got hot from the field and started to separate the score. 42 second-half points for the Riverhawks - to the Warriors' 23, led the Riverhawks to a 65-42 win. Magnuson led all scorers in the contest with 20 points, while adding 4 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

Brielle Magnuson currently sits in 2nd among all scorers across the NWAC at 19.9 PPG.

Coach Hazeltine and the Warriors return to action on January 2nd, 2025, against Clark College, in Vancouver, WA..