PORTLAND, Ore. – The Corban University women's basketball team traveled to Portland on Friday evening for a pivotal Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) matchup with the Warner Pacific College Knights, and Corban used a strong second half to defeat the Knights, 72-56. The win for the Warriors was a key one, as it kept them in the top three in the CCC standings.
The Navy and Gold began the game well, and it was sophomore guard Sadie Pilgeram (Helena, Mont.) who paced the Warrior offense early on, scoring on a fast-break layup, and then following that up with a long-range effort to put Corban up 9-4 at the 16-minute mark.
After the Knights had tied things up by the first media timeout, junior guard Jade Lowery (Oregon City, Ore.) came out firing the next time down the floor, sinking her shot from beyond the arc. Warner Pacific immediately answered, but Lowery remained hot from deep, scoring from downtown again.
Corban senior center Tara Van Weerdhuizen (Spokane, Wash.) then showed why she is one of the top centers in the CCC, scoring on a nifty reverse layup. Pilgeram continued Corban's assault from three-point land, nailing another shot from deep for the Warriors, extending the Corban advantage.
Warner Pacific pulled close again towards the end of the half, but senior center Danielle Vanderstoel (Salem, Ore.) converted on her layup opportunity to keep Corban in front.
At the halftime break, Corban led 31-27. During the first 20 minutes, the Warriors shot 34.3% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc. Warner Pacific finished with very similar marks, shooting 34.4% from the floor and 33.3% from downtown.
The second stanza began with both teams trading a pair of baskets, and the Knights (8-11, 1-5 CCC) actually took a one-point lead, but Lowery answered for Corban, scoring five-straight points to put the Navy and Gold back in front. After Warner Pacific tied the game with a bucket of its own, Lowery notched a steal and scored an and-one play for the Warriors, putting Corban up by three points midway through the half.
The Warriors used a mini-run over the next several minutes, with Pilgeram making another three-pointer and both junior guard Julia Young (Snohomish, Wash.) and sophomore forward Payton Wilcox (Salem, Ore.) converting on tough fast-break shots, putting Corban up 58-47. Van Weerdhuizen complemented those plays with a three-point basket the hard way, converting on the free throw attempt after scoring the left-handed hook.
From that point on, the Navy and Gold closed out the victory convincingly, winning by the 16-point margin.
"It's always big to win on the road, and we did it with an all-around team effort," said head coach Dave Bale.
On the evening, the Warriors shot 42% overall and 37.5% from beyond the arc. Defensively, Corban held Warner Pacific to just a 32.8% shooting effort overall and just a 7-for-27 (25.9%) mark from downtown.
"The ladies did a good job pressuring Warner in the first half, but we just couldn't quite open it up because our shots on the perimeter weren't falling," commented Bale. "In the second half we found our range shooting 50.0% from the field, and our full-court pressure slowed down their transition and we did a much better job getting to their shooters on the perimeter. The back-ups gave us great defensive energy, and our starters found their shots again.
For the Navy and Gold, it was Lowery with a team-best 21 points on an 8-for-15 shooting effort, while Van Weerdhuizen added 17 points and nine boards
Leading the way individually for Warner Pacific was Daesha Jackson with 12 points, while Kyeli Hendryx totaled 11 points on the evening.
Corban (10-8, 4-2 CCC) returns to the hardwood tomorrow evening when it goes on the road to play Concordia University. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
