BOX SCORE

SALEM, Ore. – In a battle of two nationally-ranked teams with second place in the CCC standings on the line, Corban's women's basketball team fell victim to an 8-2 run over the final three minutes of the first half before Concordia eventually extended its lead to double digits in a 70-59 win Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

Freshman Alison Evans (Canby, Ore.) scored a career-high 12 points for Corban on 5-for-8 shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds, while junior Katie Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) added a game-high 17 points and sophomore Emily Tsugawa (Gladstone, Ore.) chipped in with 14 points of her own. Sophomore Tess Bennett (Sutherlin, Ore.) led the host Warriors with 11 rebounds, while Steigleman handed out a team-high five assists.

It was a see-saw battle over the opening 90 seconds, as Concordia held a slim one-point lead (5-4) following a Courtney May jumper at the 18:32 mark. Over the next two minutes, the visiting Cavaliers used a 5-0 run en route to securing a six-point advantage (10-4) before Corban clawed its way back to tie the game at 16-16 via a 12-6 run of its own that concluded with a Tsugawa three-pointer with 11:21 remaining. Concordia would push its lead back to eight points (25-17) thanks to a 9-1 run before the host Warriors fought to within a single point (31-30) after an Evans lay-in with 2:50 on the clock. Over the final two-plus minutes, Concordia would use a back-breaking 8-2 run that handed the visiting Cavaliers a seven-point edge (39-32) heading into the locker room.

The second half would belong to Concordia, as the visiting Cavaliers quickly built a 10-point lead (42-32)  with 18:18 left and never allowed Corban to get any closer than five points over the next 11 minutes. Concordia would hold a double-digit lead for the final seven-plus minutes, as the Cavaliers settled for an 11-point victory (70-59) to move ahead of Corban in the conference standings with five games remaining.

Concordia was led in scoring by May with 15 points, while four other Cavaliers – Grace Cappleman, Rachel Scarpelli, Sarah LeTourneau, and Danielle Clauson – added 13, 13, 12, and 10 points respectively. LeTourneau, who tallied a career-high in points along with Cappleman, also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, while May dished out a game-high eight assists.

As a team, Corban shot 23-for-72 (31.9%) from the field to go along with a 6-for-23 (26.1%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 7-for-12 (58.3%) performance at the free throw line. On the other hand, Concordia was a combined 28-for-62 (45.2%) from the field, 2-for-12 (16.7%) from long distance, and 12-for-22 (54.5%) at the charity stripe.

With tonight's result, Corban falls to 14-10 overall and 9-5 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Concordia improves to 17-8 overall and 9-4 in league games. The Warriors will return to the court tomorrow – Saturday, February 5th – against the Knights of Warner Pacific beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in Salem.

NOTE: Tomorrow night's game against Warner Pacific will conclude Corban's "Think Pink Weekend," as the Warriors are working in conjunction with the WBCA to raise awareness about breast cancer and its effect on women world-wide.