REDDING, Calif. – Freshman Katie Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed a team-best nine rebounds, as Corban's women's basketball team opened the 2008-09 season with a win over Simpson, 66-50, Thursday night inside the Heritage Student Center.
Playing its first of three straight games on the campus of Simpson University, Corban came out a little sluggish over the opening twenty minutes before out-running the host Redhawks in the second half to win by 16 points.
"We had a good solid second half after a sluggish first," said tenth-year head coach Terry Williams. "Over the opening twenty minutes, we allowed too many offensive boards which allowed them to remaining in the game. In the second half, we out-ran (Simpson) to open with an impressive victory."
With the score knotted at 29-all at halftime, Corban outscored Simpson 37-21 in the second half for the final margin of 16 points.
Along with Steigleman, sophomore Jennesa Miller (Mica, Wash.) and senior Kailey Bostwick (Medford, Ore.) added 14 and 8 points respectively. A pair of freshman -- Joani Reimer (Ferndale, Wash.) and Becky Buhler (Clackamas, Ore.) -- aided in the scoring with seven and six points respectively.
On the boards, Steigleman was aided by Reimer, Bostwick, and Miller who each pulled down five rebounds each in the Warriors' victory. Senior Ashley Connell (Spokane, Wash.) led Corban with a team-high four assists.
As a team, the Warriors shot 26-for-68 (38.2%) from the field that included 4-for-9 (44.4%) from beyond the three-point line. On the other hand, Simpson was 18-for-58 (31.0%) from the field.
Simpson was led by Paige Barrett's team-high 16 points, while Alisha Foster pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for the host Redhawks.
With the win, Corban improves to 1-0 overall compared to Simpson's 0-6 overall mark this season. The Warriors will continue play in Northern California on Friday, November 14th, in the opener of the Simpson Invitational against Concordia University-Irvine beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Redding, California.
