HELENA, Mont. – The Corban University women's basketball team played another solid game on Sunday, but the Warriors fell victim to a one-point defeat for the second day in a row, falling to the Fighting Saints of Carroll College, 65-64.  The contest capped a three-game road trip for the Warriors, in which Corban faced three NAIA Division I teams.

Carroll opened up an early four-point lead, 11-7, but the Warriors responded with six-straight points to take a 13-11 advantage, led by sophomore forward Payton Wilcox (Salem, Ore.) and senior forward Tara Van Weerdhuizen (Spokane, Wash.) during that stretch.

With both sides playing solid defensively, the next several minutes saw buckets hard to come by, but by the 8:33 mark in the first half, Carroll had regained the lead, 22-17.  The Warriors answered back though to take a 30-29 advantage, with another pair of shots made by Wilcox, a three-pointer from junior guard Jade Lowery (Oregon City, Ore.), and a couple of key baskets from senior center Danielle Vanderstoel (Salem, Ore.). 

At the halftime intermission, Corban ended up trailing by just two points, 30-32, while shooting at an impressive clip of 48.15% during the first 20 minutes.

The second half did not begin how the Warriors had hoped, as Carroll rattled off 12-consecutive points to nab a 44-30 lead after just four minutes.  Not completely defeated, Corban fought back, with Van Weerdhuizen and Lowery leading the charge.  Carroll, however, remained hot from the field, making it tough on Corban defensively as the Warriors were unable to get too many defensive stops.

With 8:14 remaining in regulation, the Fighting Saints had extended their lead to 59-43, but a quick long-range effort from junior forward Megan Benedict (Lebanon, Ore.) and a jumper from Lowery brought the deficit back down to 11 points.  Continuing its rampant rally, the Warriors starting getting the stops they were looking for, and after Benedict connected from downtown again and Lowery nailed another jumper, Corban was within three with just over two minutes left on the clock.

Corban eventually tied the game late, but the Warriors were unable to get over the top, resulting in the tough one-point defeat.  For Corban it was its second one-point loss in a row.

Wilcox concluded her road trip with a team-best 18-points on a 7-for-13 shooting effort, while Lowery tallied 11 points and three assists.  Additionally, Van Weerdhuizen finished the contest with 10 points and seven rebounds.

"The ladies had non-stop energy and played really well, especially with it being the third game in a row," commented head coach Dave Bale.  "We shot the ball well except for a five-minute stretch where they opened up a significant lead, but our 'don't quit' attitude brought us back to a tie.  Payton, Jade and Tara did a nice job scoring, and we did a nice job handling their pressure."

As a team, the Navy and Gold shot 45.1% for the game, and 44.4% from beyond the arc.  Carroll (3-3) shot just 40.0% overall as a team, but did nail nine three-pointers on the day.  Both teams shot well from the free-throw line, with Corban going 14-of-17 from the charity stripe, and the Fighting Saints going 16-of-20 from the line.

Corban (2-4) returns to action on Wednesday when it takes on Lewis & Clark College in Portland at 7 p.m.