Lady Warriors Drop Two to Top 25 Opponents

Seward, Neb. – The Lady Warriors have started their season just as they have the past several seasons; playing the nation's best right out of the gate. This year did not have the same result as recent years as the Lady Warriors dropped both of their opening games at the Cattle Classic in Seward, Neb. With the loss of seven seniors from last year's team, this team has enough new pieces they will spend some time working out the kinks early on this season.

In the opening game, the Warriors took on the host, and 17^th ranked, Concordia University (NE). Sterling was able to stay close early on in the first quarter before Concordia slowly pulled away in the last five minutes. Sterling trailed by ten, 30-20, after ten minutes of play. The rest of the way it was consistency by the Bulldogs that put the Warriors out of reach. Sterling's production dropped off for the next two quarters before picking up again in the fourth quarter. Concordia was consistent for the first three quarters before falling slightly in the fourth, but they had built a substantial lead by that point. Sterling found themselves on the wrong end of the opening game, losing 95-70.

Three Warriors found the basket for double-digit scoring. Kali Briar and Korynn Clason paced the way for the Warriors with 17 and 14 points, respectively. Kayla Morris was the other, scoring 11. She also led Sterling with 4 assists. Bailey Young grabbed 8 rebounds off the bench for Sterling in her Warrior debut, and Evie Gill had 7 rebounds of her own.

The Lady Warriors had little time to think about the opening loss as they started game number two at 10 a.m. the next morning against #8 Dakota State (SD). Dakota State proved their ranking with an 96-52 win over Sterling. The biggest separation occurred with State outscored Sterling 33-7 in the second quarter, when they executed their full-court press to perfection.

Clason and Alyssa Heskamp, a junior transfer from Barton County Community College, led Sterling with 10 points apiece. Clason just missed a double-double grabbing 8 rebounds in the game. Briar was held scoreless in the game but made her presence known on defense with 4 steals to lead Sterling. Heskamp had 3 steals.

The preseason gauntlet continues with Sterling hosting #2 Central Methodist in Sterling on Saturday afternoon at 2 pm. This is Sterling's home opener this season.

Be sure to check for news and updates on Sterling Warrior Athletics on Facebook (/SCWarriors), Twitter (@SterlingCSports), and Instagram (sterlingcsports), as well as the hashtag #SwordsUp. Watch all of the Warriors' live home events on the Sterling College Sports Network.