BOX SCORE
McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Corban's women's basketball team did not show much rust coming off an 11-day layoff, as the Warriors shot over 52% from the field en route to securing their first win of the season with a 77-54 victory over NCAA Division III member Linfield Wednesday inside Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
"We started a bit slow on the offensive end and we had to hope someone would get it rolling," said head coach
Dave Bale, who picked up his first win since returning to the bench for his second stint with the Warriors this season. "We did by hitting 44% from the field with five three-pointers in the first half, as the second half was even better at 17-of-27. Only seven turnovers was a real plus as well."
Corban (1-2) was led offensively by junior Tara Vanweerdhuizen with her third straight double-double to open the season, as the third-year Warrior scored a game-high 24 points on 12-for-17 shooting from the field to go along with a team-best 10 rebounds. Vanweerdhuizen was aided offensively by the sophomore duo of
Jade Lowery and
Megan Benedict, as the second-year pair scored 19 and 11 points, respectively. Freshman
Sadie Pilgeram aided Vanweerdhuizen on the boards with eight rebounds, while sophomore
Julia Young handed out a game-high five assists.
Linfield (0-3) would get a double-double from Kaely Maltman with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Taylor Solomon added 10 points for the Wildcats. Solomon and Katelyn Henson aided Maltman on the boards with four rebounds each, while April Meads handed out a team-high three assists for Linfield.
In the opening two minutes, Corban would take an early 2-0 lead on a bucket by Vanweerdhuizen in the paint before Linfield tied the game for the only time on a jumper by Henson with 17:44 on the clock. The visiting Warriors would never trail again, as Corban pushed its lead to double digits (18-8) with a 16-6 run over a span of nine minutes with the run ending on a three-point by Benedict with 8:26 left in the opening half. Over the final eight-plus minutes, Corban would slowly increase its lead to a halftime difference of 14 points (35-21) on a three-pointer by sophomore
Kelli Christenson for the final points of the first half.
The second half would begin with Corban quickly extending its lead to 22 points (45-23) with a 10-2 run that concluded on a three-pointer by Lowery with 17:26 remaining. Linfield would get as close as 12 points (58-46) on a free throw by Maltman before Corban used a 17-4 run over a span of six minutes to push its lead to a game-high 25 points (75-50) on a jumper by Pilgeram with 2:33 on the clock. Both teams would trade baskets over the final two-plus minutes, as Corban settled for the 23-point win (77-54) to give the Warriors their first win of the season.
As a team, Corban combined to shoot 32-for-61 (52.5%) from the field that included a scorching 63.0% (17-of-27) in the second half. The Warriors were also 7-of-18 (38.9%) from beyond the three-point line and 6-of-10 (60.0%) at the free throw line. On the other hand, Linfield was a combined 15-of-50 (30.0%) from the field, 5-of-21 (23.8%) from behind the arc, and 19-of-29 (65.5%) at the charity stripe.
Corban will return to action on Saturday, November 23rd, in the Warriors' first game at the TCSA/DAP Hoops Classic against San Diego Christian College beginning at 4:00 p.m. on the campus of Simpson University in Redding, California.
