LEWISTON, Idaho. – Aspen Slifka scored 30 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter alone to lead the Bushnell women's basketball team to their highest-ranked victory in history, a 67-56 Cascade Collegiate Conference road win over No. 7 Lewis-Clark State College on Saturday.
 
Bushnell (7-4, 3-2 CCC) earns its first win over a ranked team since Feb. 22, 2020. Not only was it the highest-ranked victory for the Beacons, but it was also the first-ever win over LC State (8-2, 4-1). Slifka recorded the third 30+ point game of her career, following a 29-point performance just the day before.
 
Head Coach Chad Meadors said, "This game of basketball is crazy and super humbling. We found a way today to bounce back from a tough loss. Our tempo is the key for us and how we play. We figured that out last night and put it to use today. It was a super great win to go into the new year, but I'm not surprised. We are capable of this if we can control how we play."
 
Bushnell led by 17 points, 43-26, with under five minutes to go in the third quarter before LC State used a 10-0 run to pull within seven. The Beacon lead narrowed to five after a three-pointer by Ellie Sander brought the score to 45-40 with 12 seconds to play in the third period.
 
The Warriors held the Beacons scoreless for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, cutting the advantage to just two points before Slifka took control of the game. Slifka scored 10 points in less than a three-minute span to extend the Bushnell lead back to double digits, 56-46, with three minutes to go.
 
A Mathis' layup with 01:19 on the clock kept the advantage at nine, 59-50, and the Beacons were sent to the free throw line, making 8-of-10 in a long final minute. The Bushnell defense held LC State to 22.2% shooting (4-18) in the fourth period to secure the bounce-back win against a talented Warrior squad.
 
Mathis finished with 18 points and 19 rebounds to tie for third in single-game boards in Bushnell history. The Beacons finished with a 46-34 advantage in rebounds, a season-high.
 
"Aspen had huge back-to-back games and Libby was amazing," said Meadors. "Aly directed us unbelievably tonight, getting us into our structure and making sure we didn't play too fast. Ayden was our third scorer and Mandy got six rebounds in the second half that were all very important for us."
 
Ayden Krupke recorded 11 points and five rebounds, Aly Mirabile added six assists, and Mandy Sisul grabbed a career-high eight rebounds. The Beacons shot 39.6% (21-53) from the floor, 37.5% (6-16) from three-point range and 73.1% (19-26) at the free throw line.
 
LC State was led by 21 points and eight rebounds from Sander, who shot 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. The Warriors were held to under 30% shooting in just their second loss of the year.
 
Up next, Bushnell hosts the Evergreen State College (Jan. 5) and Northwest University (Jan. 6) for the first home games since Nov. 11.