LEWISTON, Idaho – Northwest got a career-high 19 points from Grace Meza, but Lewis-Clark State claimed the 70-59 win Friday.
 
The Warriors held Northwest to eight points inside and pounded the ball down low for 23 points. 
 
NU played even for the first eight minutes, 16-16, but went on a five-minute field goal break while LCSC built a 25-17 lead.
 
Livi Lindsey hit a three-pointer with 4:28 left in the half to narrow the gap to 27-22, but NU went without a field goal from there and trailed 36-24 at the half.
 
The Warriors led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter, but a three-pointer by Meza made it 55-50 with 7:33 left in the game. That was as close as the Eagles would get, however, falling to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.
 
Meza had four three-pointers in seven attempts and also led NU with six assists. Lindsey also went four-of-seven from three-point land for 12 points. Sam VanLoo had nine points and a dozen rebounds.
 
"This was a great basketball game," said NU Head Coach Ken Crawford. "I am really proud of our team. They worked hard, battled hard. This is going to be the type of game that we will use to our advantage as we continue to learn and move forward."
 
Maddie Holm led Lewis-Clark State (7-0, 2-0) with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
 
NU returns to action at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, visiting Walla Walla.