SALEM, Ore. – In a matchup against the third-best rebounding team in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC), the Corban University women's basketball team knew it had to attack the glass in order to be successful. The team did just that on Saturday night, as the Warriors outrebounded The Evergreen State College, 46-36, en route to a 58-44 victory.
Corban (14-9, 8-3 CCC) scored the first four points of the contest after sophomore forward Payton Wilcox (Salem, Ore.) and senior center Tara Van Weerdhuizen (Spokane, Wash.) both converted layups for the Navy and Gold. After Evergreen (11-7, 5-6 CCC) tied the game at six apiece, senior center Danielle Vanderstoel (Salem, Ore.) scored the next four points for Corban to give the Warriors a 10-7 lead early in the first half.
Neither team could get into a rhythm on offense for the remainder of the first stanza, as Corban never managed to pull away by more than four points in the final 10 minutes. With the game tied at 18 apiece, Wilcox scored the final four points for Corban, and with 1:08 left in the first stanza, senior forward Sadee Jones converted a layup for the Geoducks to cut the Warriors' lead to two (22-20) going into the locker room.
Both teams struggled from the field in the first 20 minutes, as Corban shot 30.3% (10-for-33) from the floor, while Evergreen launched a 29.0% (9-for-31) clip. Wilcox led the Warriors in scoring with eight points, while junior guard LaNiecia Weatherspoon added seven points for the Geoducks.
Evergreen went to Jones on its first two offensive possessions of the second half, and she delivered a pair of buckets to give the Geoducks their first lead of the game (24-22) at the 18:52 mark. After Van Weerdhuizen converted a bucket in the paint, sophomore forward Sadie Pilgeram (Helena, Mont.) drilled a three-pointer to give the Warriors the lead (27-24) for good with 17:15 left to go.
After the Geoducks got as close as three (33-30) at the 14:19 mark, a layup by Pilgeram ignited an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to put Evergreen away. Evergreen would eventually cut Corban's lead to eight on a pair of occasions with under five minutes left in regulation, but junior guard Jade Lowery (Oregon City, Ore.) responded with back-to-back buckets to keep the Geoducks at bay, as her layup gave the Navy and Gold a 54-44 lead with 1:34 left on the clock, and the Warriors would close out the win from there.
"The defensive pressure was the key as Evergreen is a very tenacious team, but lacks a lot of depth, so keeping the game in race mode finally wore them down in the second half," said head coach Dave Bale. "We had a tough time putting the ball in the hole in the first 20 minutes, but found the range in the second half and were able to open it up down the stretch.
Van Weerdhuizen directed Corban's interior offense with 12 points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds. Meanwhile, Pilgeram drilled both of Corban's three-pointers tonight en route to a 12-point effort. Wilcox finished the contest with 11 points and six rebounds, while Lowery registered eight points and a game-high seven assists.
Following the contest, Lowery talked about the team's win in a post-game interview:
"Tara, Dani, and Payton did a nice job of slowing down Sadee Jones of Evergreen and we took care of the ball with only 11 turnovers," Bale said. "We spread the scoring out amongst several players and the whole team earned defensive kudos for our efforts!"
The Geoducks, who only played a total of six players, were led by Jones, as she notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Weatherspoon added 11 points, while junior guard Karina Gee tallied eight points and a pair of jumpers from beyond the arc.
Although Corban only shot 38.5% (25-for-65) from the field, the Warriors recorded a 46.9% (15-for-32) effort in the second half. Evergreen tossed in a 33.3% (19-for-57) clip, and the Navy and Gold outrebounded the Geoducks, 46-36.
Corban returns to action on Jan. 30 for a pivotal battle against No. 14 Southern Oregon in Ashland, Ore. at 5:30 p.m.
