LOGAN, Utah — LMU (2-0) defeated Utah State (1-1) 70-45 on Friday, using a 10-0 third-quarter run to stretch a double-digit lead. The Lions forced 31 turnovers, recorded a season-high 17 steals and held a 20-6 advantage in points off turnovers. Ali'a Matavao recorded a season-high two steals.
Danae Powell led the Lions with a season-high 18 points, making six field goals and three 3-pointers while adding two steals. Shawnee Nordstrom added 14 points on six made field goals, including two 3-pointers, and has now scored at least 14 points in each of LMU's first two games. Maya Hernandez contributed seven points while recording season highs with five assists and four steals. Kayla Jones controlled the glass with a team-high nine rebounds, including four offensive boards, while adding six points and two steals. Ivana Krajina finished with eight points, four assists and two steals.
After Utah State scored first, Sarah Deng split two free throws and Erica Finney followed with a 3-pointer at 8:22 to put the Lions ahead 4-2, and Ali'a Matavao's free throw plus Maya Hernandez's layup made it 7-2. Shawnee Nordstrom hit a 3-pointer off a Hernandez assist, and Ivana Krajina tipped in a miss to give the Lions a 12-6 lead. LMU then forced five straight Utah State turnovers from 5:42 to 4:37, with Kayla Jones converting one into a fast-break layup for a 14-6 advantage. Utah State cut the margin to 14-10 with two inside baskets, but Deng made two free throws, Hernandez added another and Danae Powell hit a 3-pointer off an assist from Jones with 46 seconds left as the Lions finished the quarter ahead 20-12.
Nordstrom supplied the Lions' early offense in the second quarter, scoring layups at 9:27 and 7:54, the second off an Ana Milanovic assist, to put LMU ahead 24-12. Utah State cut the margin to 26-18 on baskets by Acacia Hayes and Mirembe Twehamye Montanana around a Powell layup, but Shanayka Ismar added a free throw at 5:48 to make it 27-18. The Lions then kept Utah State off the scoreboard until Kylani Rookstool's 3-pointer at :59, getting a Powell fast-break layup, a Nordstrom layup and Milanovic layup off a Nordstrom assist during the stretch to build a 33-18 lead. Rookstool's late 3-pointer accounted for the final scoring of the quarter, which ended with the Lions in front 33-21.
Jones followed a series of offensive rebounds with a tip-in at 9:37, and the Lions added a Hernandez layup and a Powell 3-pointer to move ahead 40-21 at 8:36. Utah State answered by scoring five of the next six baskets, trimming the margin to 42-31 on a layup at 4:24. Powell's 3-pointer at 4:01 began a 10-0 Lions stretch that also included her fast-break layup and free throw, Krajina's steal and layup and Allison Clarke's second-chance jumper, before Utah State's layup with three seconds left closed the quarter with the Lions ahead 52-33.
Krajina supplied the Lions' first two baskets of the fourth quarter, and Utah State answered each time with layups as the score moved to 56-37 at 8:21. Utah State continued to score around the rim, with second-chance baskets by Sami Mancini and Nicole Ogun bringing it to 58-41 at 5:20, but Hernandez answered with a layup and later fed Nordstrom after a steal for a 62-41 advantage. After Ogun scored again at 2:51, Nordstrom hit a 3-pointer, Allison Clarke added another 3-pointer and Clarke finished a fast-break layup off Krajina's assist, stretching the Lions' lead to 70-43 with 1:27 left. Utah State added two Acacia Hayes free throws with three seconds left, and the Lions closed out a 70-45 win.
Up Next for LMU Women's Basketball
Up next, the Lions host La Sierra University on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at noon at Gersten Pavilion.
