BOX SCORE

ASHLAND, Ore. – Junior Tara Vanweerdhuizen and sophomore Jade Lowery combined to score 46 points, as Corban's women's basketball team upset the NAIA's No. 17-ranked Raiders of Southern Oregon, 82-79, Saturday inside Bob Riehm Arena.

"We played an inspired game against an excellent and short-handed Southern Oregon team tonight," said head coach Dave Bale. "Our women did a great job of executing our game plan, as Southern Oregon ran the floor well. The Raiders' lack of bodies played into our advantage, as they were unable to do what they normally do. Our girls shot the ball decently for the game, as we made some very good decisions and hit our three's when needed. We played really well and limited our turnovers despite SOU pressing the entire game. I am really proud of how our girls hung in there throughout the game and played hard."

Corban (9-8, 4-1 CCC) was led by Vanweerdhuizen with a game-high 25 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field to go along with a team-high eight rebounds and a game-high five blocked shots. Lowery added 21 points that included three shots from beyond the arch and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line, while fellow sophomore Julia Young also scored in double figures with 12 points. Freshman Sadie Pilgeram had her second all-around game with eight points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots, and one steal for the Warriors.

Southern Oregon (14-4, 3-3 CCC) played only eight players, as the Raiders were led offensively by Bree Park with 20 points to go along with double-digit performances by Kristen Schoenherr (18 points), Ashley Claussen (18), and Carly Meister (11). Meister also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for SOU, while Claussen handed out a game-high eight assists.

The game would begin with Southern Oregon scoring the first points before Corban used a 7-0 run over a span of two minutes to take a 7-3 lead on a three-pointer by Lowery at the 17:16 mark. Over the next seven minutes, the host Raiders used an 18-6 run to grab an eight-point lead (21-13) on a jumper by Park with 10:40 on the clock. Two minutes later, Southern Oregon secured its largest lead of the game (25-16) on another jumper by Park before Corban used a 16-6 run over an eight-minute span to grab a 32-31 lead on a lay-in by Vanweerdhuizen with 2:40 left. Southern Oregon would close out the first half on a 7-2 run to take a four-point lead (38-34) into halftime.

Corban would start the second half on a 4-0 run to tie the game at 38-all, as neither team secured more than a two-point lead over the next five minutes. Southern Oregon would extend its lead to four points (54-50) before the visiting Warriors took a 58-56 lead on a three-pointer by Pilgeram with 10:41 left. Over the next five-plus minutes, both teams battled back-and-forth with Corban breaking a 70-70 tie with an 8-1 run over a three-minute span en route to grabbing a 78-71 lead on a jumper by Vanweerdhuizen with just under three minutes left on the clock. The Warriors would not score again until the game's final minute, as Southern Oregon pulled within a single point (78-77) thanks to a 6-0 run. Over the final 32 seconds, Corban would hit all four of its free throws with SOU knocking down its two shots from the charity stripe as well. With the Warriors clinging to a three-point lead (82-79), Southern Oregon missed a last-second three-point attempt with Vanweerdhuizen blocking the game's final shot following an offensive rebound by the Raiders to preserve the victory for Corban.

As a team, Corban combined to shoot 31-for-77 (40.3%) from the field that included an 8-for-19 (42.1%) performance from the three-point line and a 12-for-16 (75.0%) showing at the free throw line. On the other hand, Southern Oregon was a combined 31-for-68 (45.6%) from the field, 6-of-15 (40.0%) from long distance, and 11-of-16 (68.8%) at the charity stripe.

Corban will return to action on Friday, January 10th, against the visiting Knights of Warner Pacific beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in Salem.