BOX SCORE

ASHLAND, Ore. – In the opening round of the Cascade Collegiate Conference playoffs, Corban's women's basketball team attempted to comeback from 14 points down in the second half and fell to the NAIA's No. 22-ranked Raiders of Southern Oregon, 77-71, Tuesday night inside the McNeal Pavilion.

“This was a tough loss,” commented tenth-year head coach Terry Williams. “The difference came at the free throw line, as (Southern Oregon) made seven more than we did and the final score was a mere six points. I thought that we played with (the Raiders) and showed that we could compete with anyone tonight. I am proud of the girls and their effort tonight. Wish we could have won, but cannot hang my head after tonight's performance.” 

In the opening half, Corban came out firing on all cylinders thanks to a three-pointer by freshman Katie Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) on the Warriors' opening possession – a mere ten seconds after the opening tip. A free throw by senior Kailey Bostwick (Medford, Ore.) handed the Warriors their largest lead of the opening half (4-0) before Southern Oregon used a quick 7-0 run within a two-minute span to take a 7-4 lead following a Emily Brookins jumper with 17:00 minutes remaining in the opening half. Following Brookins' jumper, Corban used a 5-2 run that knotted the game at 9-all thanks to a Bostwick three-pointer with 14:52 showing on the clock. A jumper by freshman Becky Buhler (Clackamas, Ore.) re-tied the game at 11-11 with 14:21 remaining. Southern Oregon took the lead for good at 14-11 thanks to a Rhiannon Dickison three-pointer with just under 14 minutes remainining before Corban pulled within a single point (20-19) following a lay-in by sophomore Jennesa Miller (Mica, Wash.) with 9:04 left in the opening half. Over the next six-plus minutes, Southern Oregon would extend its lead to as much as eight points (31-23) thanks to an Ashley Baker lay-in with 2:42 showing on the clock. Corban attempted to hold the deficit in single digits, but could not as Southern Oregon took a 12-point lead (37-25) into the half following a Dickison lay-in with 16 seconds remaining. 

Over the opening two-plus minutes of the second half, Southern Oregon extended its lead to 16 points (44-28) following a pair of Brookins free throws with 17:15 left in the game. The Warriors would battle back to within 10 points (44-34) thanks to a 6-0 run that was capped by a Steigleman free throw before Corban took the deficit to single digits (51-43) thanks to a pair of Bostwick shots at the free throw line with 13:38 on the clock. After Southern Oregon grabbed a 13-point advantage (62-49) with 6:50 remaining, Corban used a 17-8 run over a span of four minutes and 25 seconds to pull within a mere four points (70-66) thanks to a Miller lay-in with 2:25 remaining. Unfortunately, the Warriors could not get any closer as Southern Oregon used time free throw shooting down the stretch to capture the victory (77-71) and move onto the conference tournament semifinals on Friday night. 

Steigleman led all Warrior scorers with 21 points on 8-for-21 shooting from the field, while Bostwick and Miller added 20 and 12 points respectively. Steigleman and senior Ashley Connell (Spokane, Wash.) pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds each to go along with Connell's team-high five assists. 

Southern Oregon was led by Dickison's game-high 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field that included a 5-for-9 showing from three-point range, while four other Raiders – Jacki Speer, Brookins, Baker, and Whitney Scott – scored in double figures with 13, 13, 11, and 11 points respectively. Speer led all players with a game-high 17 rebounds, while Scott handed out a game-high six assists. 

As a team, Corban shot 26-for-69 (37.7%) from the field that included a 16-for-37 (43.2%) clip in the second half. Meanwhile, Southern Oregon was 27-for-66 (40.9%) from the field that included a 14-for-33 (42.4%) showing over the game's final twenty minutes. 

Corban ends its season at 12-17 overall, while Southern Oregon improves to 25-4 overall and will take on the NAIA's No. 14-ranked Coyotes of The College of Idaho on Friday, February 27th, in the conference tournament semifinals in Caldwell, Idaho beginning at 7:30 p.m.