Trailblazers Bounce Back with Big Road Win at John Wood

The Lewis and Clark women's basketball team bounced back with a big 64–46 road win at John Wood Community College, showing resilience and setting a strong tone as they continue conference play.

Coming back to campus and back into game rhythm, the Trailblazers showed focus, energy, and depth, controlling the game on both ends of the floor. Aniston Mapes led the way with an outstanding all-around performance, finishing with 19 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds. La'Tasja Deloney dominated inside, recording a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Ava Smith added 12 points and 6 boards to help secure the convincing win.

Head Coach Issac Moore was pleased with how his team responded after the break, especially with most of the roster finally healthy.

"We finally have most of our players healthy, so now that we're in conference play, we want to see improvements on the defensive end of the floor, more consistency rebounding the basketball, and continued growth on the offensive end," Moore said. "We've also been able to put a focus on competition in practice since we now have enough players to compete against each other, which gives us valuable reps for all players on the team."

With added depth, the coaching staff used the weeks following the break as a "mini preseason" to get the team back into top condition.

"We were able to get a lot of time off over break, and we play in the best league in the country, so we don't have time to slow down and need to be prepared to play our best basketball right now," Moore added. "We have the talent to play with some of the best teams in the country, and our out-of-conference schedule prepared us for this moment."

Defense remains the foundation moving forward, along with trusting the system and playing with passion.

"The three things we can control are effort, execution, and enthusiasm," Moore said. "This is the most talented team I've coached at LC. If we play every possession like it's our last, we have a chance to make some noise in Region 24 and surprise some people."

The Trailblazers will look to carry that momentum back home on Wednesday as they host #5-ranked Lincoln Land in a key conference matchup.

Written by Alexandra Dunn, Athletics Social Media Coordinator