BOX SCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. – Corban's women's basketball team earned its first Cascade Collegiate Conference victory of the season and snapped a 10-game losing streak in the process with a 72-67 victory over the Knights of Warner Pacific Friday inside C.C. Perry Gymnasium.
With tonight's win, Corban improves to 4-14 overall and 1-7 in CCC games. Meanwhile, Warner Pacific falls to 9-8 on the season and 5-3 in league contests.
For the third straight game, senior
Tess Bennett led the Warriors in scoring with a game-high tying 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. Freshman
Jade Lowery had the best all-around game for Corban with 15 points, a career and game-high tying seven rebounds, three assists, and a team-high three steals. Senior
Emily Tsugawa also scored in double figures with 11 points and a team-high five assists, while sophomore Tara Vanweerdhuizen added eight points, six rebounds, and a game-high tying two blocked shots.
Over the opening two minutes, Warner Pacific would score the first six points before the host Knights extended their lead to 12-6 with 15:40 on the clock on a three-pointer by Morgan Wolff. Over the next two minutes, Corban would score six unanswered points thanks to a jumper and two free throws by Bennett as well as a lay-in by Lowery that tied the game at 12-12 with 13:56 remaining in the first half. Five straight points by Warner Pacific over the next 90 seconds would give the host Knights a 17-12 lead, but Corban stormed back with a 24-10 run over a span of 12 minutes to go ahead by nine points (36-27) on a jumper by Bennett with 47 seconds left. The visiting Warriors would settle for an eight-point lead (37-29) at halftime, as Lowery knocked down a free throw with no time left on the clock.
The second half would begin with Warner Pacific scoring the opening eight points en route to tying the game for the second time at 37-all on a Nichole Jackson lay-in with 17:45 on the clock. Over the next three-and-a-half minutes, Corban would take the lead for good via a 10-0 run that resulted in a 47-37 lead for the Warriors on a jumper by Lowery with 14:14 left. Corban would hold the lead for the remainder of the game, as Warner Pacific could not get closer than four points (47-43 & 66-62) until the game's final minute. With 45 seconds on the clock, WPC's Chelsey Christensen would hit a three-pointer to bring the Knights within three points (68-65). Fortunately for Corban, the Warriors would hit clutch free throws down the stretch going 4-for-6 in the final minute en route to earning the much-needed five-point victory (72-67).
Christiensen and Tori Carroll would lead all players with a game-high tying 19 points, as the duo combined to go 16-of-25 from the field for the Knights. Wolff also scored in double figures for Warner Pacific with 12 points, while Jacki Cannon added seven points to go along with a seven-rebound effort by Carroll. Jackson would hand out a game-high eight assists for WPC, while also registering a game-high four steals.
As a team, Corban combined to shoot 29-for-61 (47.5%) from the field despite going 0-for-10 from beyond the three-point line with the Warriors also going 14-of-18 (77.8%) at the free throw line. For the first time since the 2007-08 season, the Warriors did not hit a shot from beyond the arc snapping a 156-game streak that dated back to Corban's game against Oregon Tech on January 4, 2008 when the team was a combined 0-for-6 from long distance. On the other hand, Warner Pacific was a combined 28-of-53 (52.8%) from the field that included a 17-for-30 (56.7%) performance in the second half. The Knights were also 5-of-11 (45.5%) from long distance and 6-of-10 (60.0%) at the charity stripe.
Corban will return to action tomorrow – Saturday, January 12th – against the Cavaliers of Concordia beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside the Cavalier Gymnasium in Portland.
