BOX SCORE

SALEM, Ore. – Senior Kailey Bostwick (Medford, Ore.) tallied a team-high 22 points on 7-for-18 shooting from the field that included a 6-for-12 clip from beyond the arc, as Corban's women's basketball team upset the NAIA's No. 19-ranked Raiders of Southern Oregon, 86-79, Friday evening inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

“I think Southern was looking past us,” said tenth-year head coach Terry Williams. “This league is all about match ups—we matched up well with Southern Oregon, maybe better than any other team in the league. We understand their team and we know what works against them.”

In the first half of play, the two squads battled back and forth with 13 lead changes within the first five-plus minutes of the game, as the visiting Raiders pulled to a two-point lead (18-16) with 14:55 showing on the clock. From there on, the Warriors would use an 18-5 run, over the proceeding six minutes and 58 seconds, which included a pair of three-pointers from both Bostwick and freshman Becky Buhler (Clackamas, Ore.), to take bring the Corban lead to 11 (34-23) with 7:57 left in the half. But, the Raiders would go on a 10-2 run of their own to slash the once 11-point Warrior lead to only three (36-33) with just 3:10 left on the clock.Over the final three-plus minutes of the opening half, the Warriors would use one of Bostwick's six three-pointers of the night to raise the Warrior lead to seven (41-34) going into the half.

The second half of play started off with a bang, as freshman Katie Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) drained a deep three-pointer to take the Corban lead to 10 points (44-34) a mere 14 seconds into the final half. From there, the Warriors would go on a 15-8 run that included a pair of free-throws from freshman Joani Reimer (Ferndale, Wash.) and another Buhler three-pointer to raise the Corban lead to a game-high 17 points (59-42) with 12:54 on the clock. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the Raiders would not back down, as they would embark on a 23-6 run to pin the once 17-point Warrior lead to a reachable two points (67-65) with only 7:46 left in the game. Deciding that enough was enough, sophomore Jennesa Miller (Mica, Wash.) would hit a pair of jumpers and take the Warrior lead back to a comfortable 10 points (77-67) with just over three minutes left. A three-pointer from the Raiders' Rhiannon Dickison, would not be enough, as senior Ashley Connell (Spokane, Wash.) capped the game with a pair of free-throws that gave the Warriors the all-important win (86-79).

Bostwick was aided scoring-wise by Steigleman's 19-point, eight-rebound, eight-assist night. Buhler, Connell, and Reimer would also contribute great nights, as they tallied 18, 8, and 8-point performances respectively. Reimer would also go on to tie Steigleman's team-high eight rebounds, as Miller pulled down seven baords of her own. Distributing the ball tonight for the Warriors included Steigleman's team-high eight, as well as Bostwick's seven, as the Warriors would win the assist battle, 24-14.

Southern Oregon was lead by Dickison's game-high 26-point outing that went along with Speer, Scott, and Brookins adding 18, 15, and 10 points respectively. Speer would also pull down a game-high 10 rebounds en route to registering another double-double. Adding to her 18 points, Scott would dish out a team-high eight assists.

As a team, Corban would go on to shoot 31-for-71 (43.7%) from the field, including 10-for-24 (41.7%) from three-point range. At the charity stripe, the Warriors would go 14-for-20 (70.0%), just a hair above their season average of 68.9%. The visiting Raiders of Southern Oregon would go on to shoot fairly consistent throughout the game, going 28-for-70 (40.0%) from the field. Southern Oregon would go 10-for-26 (38.5%) from behind the arc and 13-for-20 (65.0%) from the line.

With the win, Corban improves to 11-16 overall, including 7-12 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, but, more importantly, tonight's win locks up an all-important playoff birth in the upcoming conference tournament. Meanwhile, the Raiders of Southern Oregon drop only their fifth game of the season, falling to 23-5 overall, including a 15-4 mark in the CCC.

The Warriors return to the floor tomorrow night, February 21st, in the regular season finale against the Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech.

“The players want to beat OIT really bad,” Williams would say, “We lost a heart breaker down in Klamath Falls earlier in the season, so our players want to win tomorrow. The players want to win tomorrow, they are motivated to win tomorrow, and therefore I feel good about our chances.”

Williams and his crew look to do just that, as tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

NOTE: Corban's lone senior duo of Bostwick and Connell will be honored in a ceremony prior to the men's game, as they will be playing their final game in a Warrior uniform after two years of service.