BOX SCORE

ASHLAND, Ore. – A lay-in with seven seconds left in regulation along with timely three-point and free throw shooting down the stretch of the extra period resulted in a 92-89 overtime win for Corban's women's basketball team over the Raiders of Southern Oregon Friday inside McNeal Pavilion.

Sophomore Tess Bennett (Sutherlin, Ore.) scored a game and career-high 28 points on 11-for-16 shooting from the field, while fellow sophomore Emily Tsugawa (Gladstone, Ore.) added a season and career-high 22 points that came on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting at the free throw line. Junior Katie Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) and senior Jennesa Miller (Mica, Wash.) chipped in with 15 and 12 points respectively, while Steigleman grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go along with a team-high three assists each by Miller and Bennett.

In the process of tonight's game, Steigleman tied former Warrior Jessi Norton for third all-time on the career scoring list with 1,420 points and Miller moved within a mere four points of becoming the 12th player in women's basketball history to score 1,000-or-more points in a career. Also, tonight's victory handed Southern Oregon only its second loss of the season on McNeal Pavilion's floor and keeps the Warriors within a ½ game of second-place Concordia and two games behind conference-leading Northwest in the current CCC standings.

The opening period was a back-and-forth battle with neither team giving much breathing room. Corban secured the largest lead of the first half (28-23) following a Bennett jumper with 4:33 on the clock, while Southern Oregon battled back via a closing 11-7 run to pull within a single point (35-34) at halftime.

Over the opening five-plus minutes of the second half, Corban used a 16-6 run to secure an 11-point lead (51-40) after a lay-in by sophomore Christy Mosier (Bend, Ore.) with 14:26 on the clock. Southern Oregon would battle back to tie the game for the seventh time via a 17-6 run over a four-minute span that concluded with a Whitney Scott three-pointer at the 10:33 mark. Both teams traded baskets over the next nine minutes until the score was tied for the 13th time at 76-all after a Bennett jumper with 90 seconds left. The host Raiders would grab the lead (78-76) after a Krystal Smith lay-in with 22 seconds left before Miller knotted the game at 78-78 thanks to a lay-in with seven seconds left to force overtime.

In the extra period, the two teams once again traded baskets over the opening four minutes until the score was tied for the 17th and final time at 83-all after a lay-in by SOU's Carly Wood. Corban would then get a go-ahead three-pointer by Steigleman with 68 seconds left before she knocked down back-to-back free throws 32 seconds later giving Corban a five-point lead (88-83). Nine seconds later, Tsugawa helped the visiting Warriors push their lead to seven points (90-83) after a pair of free throws. Back-to-back three-pointers by Southern Oregon over a short span of five seconds would bring the host Raiders back to within a single point (90-89) before Tsugawa knocked down two free throws with 4.1 seconds left to seal the win for Corban (92-89).

Southern Oregon's Alexi Smith led the Raiders with 21 points and six rebounds off the bench, while three other SOU players – RaTanya Newsome, Scott, and Jamie Roupp – netted double figure point totals with 17, 14, and 11 points respectively. Southern Oregon's offense was ran by Scott with a game-high five assists, while Roupp registered a game-high six steals.

As a team, Corban shot 32-for-68 (47.1%) from the field to go along with a 9-for-22 (40.9%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 19-for-21 (90.5%) performance at the free throw line. On the other hand, Southern Oregon was a combined 33-for-71 (46.5%) from the field, 7-for-14 (50.0%) from long distance, and 16-for-30 (53.3%) at the charity stripe.

With tonight's result, Corban improves to 13-9 overall and 8-4 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Southern Oregon falls to 13-11 overall and evens its league record at 6-6. The Warriors will return to the hardwood tomorrow – Saturday, January 29th – against the Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Klamath Falls.