KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Knowing it needed a win to regain momentum in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) season, the Corban University women's basketball team went on the road to Oregon Tech on Saturday evening and defeated a highly rated Owl squad, 65-47. The victory keeps the Warriors in third place in the CCC standings, and the win is sweet revenge for Corban who lost to Oregon Tech earlier this month in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
In a fairly even game in the first stanza, Corban used a 26-9 run to open the second half en route to the comfortable 18-point victory. For the Warriors, the win earns the Navy and Gold the season split with Oregon Tech, but more importantly, keeps Corban in sole possession of third place and still in the title race with five regular-season games remaining.
The stat of the night came at the charity stripe. Corban went 10-of-13 from the line, a solid mark, but it was Oregon Tech's stat line from the free-throw stripe that was shocking. The Owls went 0-for-0 from the line. Zero made shots in zero attempts. Corban's discipline defensively and dominance all over the court proved to be too much for Oregon Tech, resulting in no free shots for the Owls.
Oregon Tech (17-8, 6-7 CCC), who came into the night receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' poll, opened the game with a three-pointer, but Corban sophomore forward Payton Wilcox (Salem, Ore.) immediately answered with a made jumper for the Warriors. A few minutes later after a pair of Oregon Tech buckets, senior center Tara Van Weerdhuizen (Spokane, Wash.) and junior guard Jade Lowery (Oregon City, Ore.) nailed back-to-back jumpers, cutting the deficit to just one point.
The next possession down the floor, Corban's three-point specialist, sophomore guard Sadie Pilgeram (Helena, Mont.), drained a shot from downtown, giving Corban its first lead of the game at 11-9. Pilgeram has now made 47 three-pointers for the season, a team-best mark.
Oregon Tech would eventually rally back to take a 19-13 lead, but Corban finished the half strong and nabbed a 31-27 advantage as the teams headed into the locker rooms at halftime.
The Warriors then used the big 26-9 run to open the second half and led by as many as 23 points during that second stanza en route to cruising to the convincing 18-point triumph over the Owls.
"We changed up our defensive strategy and put our energy into the half-court effort," said head coach Dave Bale. "We also tried to take away their transition, and the stat sheet said '0' for OIT's fast-break points. We shot the ball really well and kept our turnovers down as well. It was a great team effort!"
Leading the way for the Warriors was Van Weerdhuizen with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go along with seven boards, while Wilcox added 14 points for Corban on 6-of-12 shooting. Lowery also finished in double figures with 10 points, while Pilgeram tallied eight points and a team-best eight rebounds.
As a team, the Navy and Gold shot 48.0% from the floor for the game and 50.0% from downtown (7-for-14) on the night. Defensively, Corban held Oregon Tech to a 34.5% shooting effort from the field and just a 31.8% mark from beyond the arc. And again, the stat for the night - Oregon Tech did not get to the foul line one time, showing how disciplined the Warriors were all night defensively.
Corban (15-10, 9-4 CCC) returns home to play in the friendly confines of the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center against Concordia University and Warner Pacific College next weekend. Tipoff on Friday and Saturday are set for 5:30 p.m.
