BOX SCORE

CALDWELL, Idaho – Sophomore Jade Lowery and junior Tara Vanweerdhuizen combined to score 31 points, as Corban's women's basketball team fell to The College of Idaho, 73-56, Friday inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.

"Tonight's game saw us shoot the ball well, as we remained close throughout the first half and battled in the final twenty minutes until C of I made a run at the end to win by double digits," said head coach Dave Bale. "We played hard on defense, but got hurt by the Coyotes' three-point shooting in the first half. I give credit to our ladies, as our team responded by playing good defense and grabbing rebounds. Unfortunately, a few turnovers in the end was the difference."

Corban (11-9, 6-2 CCC) was led by Lowery with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field that included a 3-for-9 showing from beyond the three-point line, while Vanweerdhuizen added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore Kelli Christenson added a career-high nine points on a trifecta of shots from beyond the arc off the Warriors' bench, while sophomore Julia Young chipped in with six points for Corban. Lowery, Vanweerdhuizen, and junior Katherine Salness led the Warriors with three assists each to go along with a game-high two blocked shots by Vanweerdhuizen.

The College of Idaho (8-8, 5-3 CCC) was led offensively by Erica Martinez with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field that included a 4-of-8 showing from beyond the arc. Martinez was aided by three other Lady Coyotes – Chakala Carthen, Dayna Drager, and Aleah Lowber – that each scored in double figures with 15, 13, and 10 points, respectively, with Carthen grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds en route to registering the game's only double-double. Drager led all players with a game-high five assists, while also recording C of I's only blocked shot of the game.

Over the opening two minutes, The College of Idaho scored the first five points before building its lead to six points (7-1) on a jumper in the paint by Martinez at the 16:26 mark. Corban would pull within four points (7-3) following a jumper in the paint by Young before C of I pushed its advantage to 14-7 on a three-pointer by Martinez with 13:30 on the clock. A quick 5-0 run by the visiting Warriors over a span of 53 seconds pulled Corban within two points (14-12) on a jumper by Lowery with 12:37 left. That would be as close as the Warriors would get, as The College of Idaho used a 22-8 run over the next eight-plus minutes en route to grabbing a 16-point lead (36-20) on a free throw by Carthen with just over four minutes remaining in the first half. At halftime, C of I would settle for a 15-point cushion (40-25) after Lowery closed out the scoring with a jumper for the final points of the opening twenty minutes.

The second half would begin with Corban using a 7-2 run over the opening two-plus minutes to pull within 10 points (42-32) on a lay-in by Vanweerdhuizen. C of I would slowly push its lead to 19 points (57-38) on a lay-in by Sienna Edmunson with 11:14 on the clock before Corban used a 13-4 run over a span of five minutes to pull within 61-51 on a lay-in by Vanweerdhuizen with just over six minutes remaining. The College of Idaho would not allow Corban to get any closer, as the Lady Coyotes pushed their lead to a game-high 20 points (73-53) after a pair of free throws by Morgan Buhr with 1:28 left. Corban would score the final three points of the game, as senior Alison Evans hit a free throw and freshman Payton Wilcox connected on a lay-in for the final difference of 17 points (73-56).

As a team, Corban combined to shoot 22-for-57 (38.6%) from the field that included a 6-of-23 (26.1%) performance from beyond the three-point line and a 6-of-10 (60.0%) showing at the free throw line. On the other hand, The College of Idaho was a combined 24-for-50 (48.0%) from the field, 9-of-21 (42.9%) from long distance, and 16-of-23 (69.6%) at the charity stripe.

Corban returns to action tomorrow – Saturday, January 18th – against the NAIA's No. 14-ranked Eastern Oregon beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside the Quinn Coliseum in La Grande.