REDDING, Calif. – Freshman Joani Reimer (Ferndale, Wash.) scored a team-high 17 points to go along with a team-high tying five rebounds, as Corban's women's basketball team opened the Simpson Invitational with a loss to Concordia-Irvine, 77-69, Friday evening inside the Heritage Student Center.
Opening the first-ever Simpson University Invitational, Corban took on the Eagles of Concordia University-Irvine and first-year head coach Jenny Hansen for the second year in a row. Last season, the Warriors opened the '07-08 season against former Albertson College of Idaho head coach Todd Corman and the Eagles inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, tonight's result was the same despite the final score being different than last season's opener.
"We played pretty well over the opening 15 minutes, as we pulled ahead by 11 points after about four minutes of play," said tenth-year head coach Terry Williams. "(Concordia) came back and tied the game with about five minutes remaining in the opening half and then used some timely three-point shooting to grab the advantage at halftime."
With the score 43-32 in favor of the Eagles of CUI at halftime, Corban quickly cut the deficit to single digits in the opening minutes of the second half. The Warriors could not get any closer than three points over the final twenty minutes, as Corban had to begin fouling with just over a minute remaining which allowed Concordia to secure the eight-point win via timely free throw shooting down the stretch.
"We played well in the second half," commented Williams. "(The girls) got out on their shooters and kept them off the offensive boards. Offensively, we began executing properly and cut the deficit to five points with just over a minute remaining. Unfortunately, we had to begin fouling over the game's final 60 seconds and Concordia hit their free throws to pick up the win."
Along with Reimer's 5-for-6 performance from the field to go along with her perfect 6-for-6 showing at the free throw line, sophomore Jennesa Miller (Mica, Wash.) and senior Kailey Bostwick (Medford, Ore.) added 12 and 11 points respectively. Freshman Katie Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.), who scored a game-high 17 points less than twenty-four hours earlier in the Warriors' season-opening victory over Simpson, was held to 10 points to go along with fellow freshman Becky Buhler's (Clackamas, Ore.) eight-point performance.
On the boards, Reimer was aided by Buhler's team-high tying five rebounds. Meanwhile, Miller, senior Ashley Connell (Spokane, Wash.), and sophomore Kayla Shaughnessy (Camano Island, Wash.) each pulled down four rebounds to go along with Bostwick's game-high five assists for the Warriors.
As a team, the Warriors shot 25-for-56 (44.6%) from the field that included 4-for-10 (40.0%) from beyond the three-point line and 15-for-21 (71.4%) from the free throw line. On the other hand, Concordia-Irvine was 26-for-59 (44.1%) from the field to go along with an 8-for-16 (50.0%) performance from beyond the arc and a 17-for-27 (63.0%) showing at the free throw line.
Concordia-Irvine was led by Lauren Sahli's game-high 22 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field that included a 3-for-4 clip from three-point land and a 7-for-8 showing at the free throw line. Meanwhile, Karen Carney and Kayanna Nichols added 12 and 9 points respectively to go along with Sahli's game-high nine rebounds for the Eagles.
With the loss, Corban drops to 1-1 on the young season. On the other hand, Concordia-Irvine improves to 1-1 overall this season. The Warriors will conclude play in Northern California on Saturday, November 15th, against the Hawks of San Diego Christian in the third game of the Simpson Invitational beginning at 2:00 p.m. in Redding, California
