BOX SCORE

SALEM, Ore. – For the second straight season, Corban's women's basketball team advanced to the semifinal round of the conference tournament thanks to an 80-69 win over Southern Oregon Tuesday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

Junior Katie Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) led all players with a game-high 24 points, while three other Warriors – sophomore Tess Bennett (Sutherlin, Ore.), senior Jennesa Miller (Mica, Wash.), and junior Becky Buhler (Clackamas, Ore.) – also scored in double figures with 18, 13, and 12 points respectively. On the boards, Bennett pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with a game-high tying eight assists by sophomore Emily Tsugawa (Gladstone, Ore.).

Corban would jump out to a quick 10-point lead (15-5) in the opening five minutes behind the three-point shooting of Steigleman and Buhler. Southern Oregon would not wilt under the pressure, as the Raiders used a 12-5 run over a span of five minutes en route to securing a three-point lead (23-20) thanks to a Kiara Moore jumper at the 8:52 mark. Both teams would battle back and forth over the next eight-plus minutes until the score was tied for the fifth time at 36-36 thanks to a Bennett jumper with 26 seconds left on the clock. The visiting Raiders held the ball in the final seconds until Steigleman stole a pass and flipped it to Tsugawa, who knocked down a buzzer-beating three-pointer that gave the Warriors a three-point lead (39-36) at halftime.

The second half would begin with Southern Oregon scoring the first four points en route to grabbing a one-point lead (40-39) following a Lindsey Scheffler jumper with 18:35 remaining. Corban would re-take the lead (42-40) following a Steigleman three-pointer before SOU's Jamie Roupp tied the game for the sixth and final time at 42-all with 17:12 on the clock. Over the next 10 minutes, the host Warriors would use a 27-18 run en route to securing an 11-point lead (69-58) after a lay-in by sophomore Christy Mosier (Bend, Ore.) at the 7:19 mark. Southern Oregon would not get any closer than five points (71-66) after a Whitney Scott three-pointer with 5:15 on the clock. Over the game's final five-plus minutes, Corban play wise basketball along with timely free throw shooting that handed the host Warriors an 11-point victory (80-69) en route to securing a spot in the semifinals later this week.

Southern Oregon was led in scoring by Roupp with 18 points, while Carly Wood, Scott, and Alexi Smith added 13, 12, and 10 points respectively. Smith also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, while Krystal Smith handed out a game-high tying eight assists to go along with eight rebounds.

As a team, Corban shot a combined 31-for-68 (45.6%) from the field to go along with an 11-for-22 (50.0%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 7-for-9 (77.8%) performance at the free throw line. On the other hand, Southern Oregon was a combined 30-for-75 (40.0%) from the field, 6-for-17 (35.3%) from long distance, and 3-for-12 (25.0%) at the charity stripe.

With tonight's win, Corban improves to 19-10 overall. Meanwhile, Southern Oregon concludes its season at 16-15 overall. Thanks to The College of Idaho's 75-57 win over Warner Pacific tonight, the Warriors will now host the visiting Lady Coyotes on Friday, February 25th, beginning at 7:00 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in Salem.