BOX SCORE
LA GRANDE, Ore. – On Play4Kay Night inside Quinn Coliseum, senior
Emily Tsugawa put together an all-around game for Corban's women's basketball team with 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists in an 82-59 loss to the NAIA's No. 5-ranked Eastern Oregon Friday in Cascade Collegiate Conference play.
With tonight's result, Corban falls to 7-17 overall and 3-10 in CCC games. Meanwhile, Eastern Oregon extends its winning streak to a nation's best 18 straight games improving to 24-2 overall and a perfect 14-0 in league contests.
Along with Tsugawa, who knocked down a team-best six field goals, fellow senior
Tess Bennett added eight points to go along with a seven-point performance by freshman
Jade Lowery. Sophomore Tara Vanweerdhuizen had her double-double streak snapped despite pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds, while also handing out a team-high tying three assists.
Tsugawa would hit a jumper in the paint with 16:49 on the clock to pull Corban within a single point (7-6) before Eastern Oregon used an 11-0 run over a span of two-plus minutes to extend its lead to 12 points (18-6) on a Brooke Randall jumper in the paint with 14:16 left. The visiting Warriors would get within six points (18-12) on a jumper by sophomore
Haley Holboke with 12:40 remaining before Eastern Oregon began to slowly extend its lead to 23 points (49-26) on a three-pointer by Malorie Moss with just over two minutes left that would be the Mountaineers' seventh made field goal from long distance of the first half. The final points of the opening twenty minutes would come from Tsugawa, who hit a three-pointer to pull Corban within 20 points (49-29) at halftime.
The second half would begin with Eastern Oregon extending its lead to a game-high 24 points (53-29) on a jumper in the paint by Chayla Jones before Corban got within 13 points at 59-46 thanks to a 15-6 run over a span of nearly eight minutes. Unfortunately that would be as close as the visiting Warriors would get, as the nationally-ranked Mountaineers would push their lead back to 24 points (76-52) on a jumper in the paint by Jorie Freeman with 3:22 left. Back-and-forth baskets over the final three-plus minutes would end when Moss knocked down a jumper in the paint with 14 seconds left for the final margin of 23 points (82-59).
Eastern Oregon was led offensively by Randall and Freeman with 22 and 20 points, respectively, while Freeman registered a double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds. No other Mountaineer would score in double figures, as Kelsea Hurliman added eight points, five rebounds, and a game-high five assists to go along with a game-high four steals.
As a team, Corban combined to shoot 23-for-67 (34.3%) from the field that included a 6-of-22 (27.3%) performance from beyond the three-point line and a 7-for-8 (87.5%) showing at the free throw line. On the other hand, Eastern Oregon was a combined 33-for-70 (47.1%) from the field, 8-of-16 (50.0%) from long distance, and 8-of-11 (72.7%) at the charity stripe.
Corban will return to action tomorrow – Saturday, February 2nd – against the NAIA's No. 16-ranked Coyotes of The College of Idaho beginning at 5:30 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time) inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center in Caldwell, Idaho.
