BOX SCORE

SALEM, Ore. – A 19-6 run over a span of seven-plus minutes in the second half helped lead Corban's women's basketball team to a crucial 76-67 win over Concordia Saturday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, as the Warriors moved into a three-way tie atop the conference standings at the midway point.

With tonight's win, Corban pushes its league-high winning streak to three games en route to improving to 12-5 overall and 7-2 in CCC games. Following this evening's victory, the Warriors sit at the top of the conference standings tied with Eastern Oregon and Oregon Tech with nine games remaining in the regular season. Meanwhile, Concordia falls to 7-13 overall and 3-6 in league contests.

Senior Shayla Fetters and junior Tess Bennett led the Warriors in scoring with 15 points each, while three other Corban players – freshman Elizabeth Downs, junior Emily Tsugawa, and freshman Tara Vanweerdhuizen – also scored in double figures with 13, 10, and 10 points, respectively. On the boards, senior Becky Buhler grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go along with seven points and five blocked shots. Tsugawa would lead all players with a game-high 11 assists, while Vanweerdhuizen tied the school-record for most blocked shots in a single game for the second time this season with a game-high seven rejections against the visiting Cavaliers.

Concordia would open the game on a 5-0 run before Corban used a 12-0 run to secure a 12-5 lead following a lay-in by Downs with 11:38 on the clock. The host Warriors would continue to increase their lead pushing it to as much as nine points (15-6) thanks to an old-fashion three-point play by Bennett at the 10:52 mark. With Corban holding a 10-point advantage (19-9) at the 6:35 mark, Concordia used a half closing 13-6 run to pull within three points (27-24) at intermission.

The second half would see Corban score the opening four points en route to grabbing a 31-24 lead, but Concordia used a 6-0 run to pull within a single point (31-30) on a jumper by Lexi Amundsen with 17:30 on the clock. Each team would trade runs over the next four minutes until the score was 40-39 in favor of Corban. Over the next seven-plus minutes, the host Warriors would use the aforementioned 19-6 run en route to securing a game-high 14-point lead (59-45) following a jumper by Bennett with 6:28 left. Concordia would not give up pulling within five points (59-54) thanks to a 9-0 run, but that was as close as the visiting Cavaliers would get thanks to timely free throw shooting and defense down the stretch by Corban en route to securing the nine-point win (76-67).

Concordia was led offensively by Gabi Meyer with a game-high 17 points off the Cavaliers' bench on 6-for-11 shooting from the field, while three other CU players – Malori Dixon, Courtney May, and Amundsen – also scored in double figures with 16, 12, and 12 points, respectively. Dixon and Rachel Scarpelli would lead Concordia with six rebounds each, while May dished out a team-high four assists for the Cavaliers.

As a team, Corban combined to shoot 28-for-57 (49.1%) from the field that included a scorching 18-for-31 (58.1%) in the second half. The Warriors were also 3-for-13 (23.1%) from beyond the three-point line and 17-for-22 (77.3%) at the free throw line. On the other hand, Concordia was 24-for-73 (32.9%) from the field, 7-for-23 (30.4%) from long distance, and 12-for-16 (75.0%) at the charity stripe.

Corban will return to action on Friday, January 20th, against the Eagles of Northwest beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside the NU Pavilion beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Kirkland, Washington.