LA GRANDE, Ore. – Corban's women's basketball team closed out its 2021 season with a 77-70 loss at the hands of the Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon University in Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) action Saturday afternoon inside Quinn Coliseum.

"That was a great basketball game and one that I hope springboards us into the off-season and the team we can be next year," said head coach Bill Pilgeram. "We battled for every possession which is all we can ever ask for."

With today's loss, Corban ends the season at 7-6 overall and 4-6 in CCC games. Meanwhile, Eastern Oregon improves to 14-4 overall and 8-2 in conference contests.

The Navy and Gold was led by sophomore Halle Wright with team-high totals of 16 points and eight assists to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds, as the first-year Warrior nearly recorded her second triple-double of the season falling a mere two assists shy. Wright, however, did score in double figures for the 10^th straight game and registered her third double-double of the season.

Offensively, Wright was aided by three other Warriors – senior Gracie McCoy, junior Shaelie Burgess, and freshman Shielteal Watah – that scored in double figures with 15, 14, and 10 points, respectively. Both McCoy and Watah registered career-high point totals on a combined 10-for-16 shooting from the field.

Junior Holly Golenor helped the Navy and Gold's rebounding effort with six boards, while freshman Gemma LaVergne handed out four assists to go along with three points and a rebound for Corban.

"Karlie Gerlinger and Makenzie Girtman made their last trips with us this week and will be sorely missed next year," stated Pilgeram. "They both epitomized what it means to be a Corban Warrior!"

Gerlinger, who made her fourth start in a row and sixth of the season, played 27 minutes tallying six points, three rebounds, and an assist in her final game donning the Navy and Gold.

The game started with neither team earning more than a four-point lead, as Corban grabbed leads of 10-6, 15-11, 18-14, and 21-17 over the opening eight minutes. Unfortunately, Eastern Oregon closed the first period on an 8-4 run tying the score at 25-25 heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter started with both teams using scoring runs that handed the Navy and Gold a 32-27 lead on a McCoy basket with 6:45 left before Eastern Oregon battled back to retake the lead (35-32) at the 4:05 mark. Over the final four minutes of the first half, the host Mountaineers never relinquished the lead taking a 39-36 lead into halftime.

Eastern Oregon opened the second half on a 9-5 run pushing its lead to seven points (48-41) with 6:31 on the clock. The Mountaineers increased their lead to as much as eight points (55-47) on back-to-back free throws by Adyson Harris with just over a minute left. Corban scored the final basket of the period on a Burgess lay-in, as the Warriors trailed 55-49 heading into the fourth quarter.

The host Mountaineers extended their lead to six points (57-51) within the first 50 seconds before Corban scored eight of the next 10 points to tie the game at 59-59 on a three-pointer by Wright with 5:30 on the clock. Neither team would secure more than a four-point lead over the next three-plus minutes until Eastern Oregon broke a 66-all tie with a 5-0 run pulling in front 71-66 with just over two minutes left. The Navy and Gold got within a single point (71-70) via a 4-0 run that was capped by a Wright bucket in the paint with 1:24 left. Unfortunately, that would be the final points of the game for Corban as Eastern Oregon used a game-ending 6-0 run that included four straight free throws in the final 16 seconds to secure the 77-70 win.

Eastern Oregon was led offensively for the second game in a row by Taylor Stricklin, who scored a game-high 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and handed out a pair of assists. Stricklin was aided offensively by Jillian Albright, Sailor Liefke, and Beverly Slater with 15, 13, and 13 points, respectively, while Albright tied Stricklin for the team lead in rebounds with eight also. Liefke led all players with a game-high nine assists, while Stricklin and Maddy Juul recorded a pair of steals each for the victorious Mountaineers.

On the night, Corban combined to shoot 29-for-60 (48.3%) from the field that included an 11-for-17 (64.7%) clip in the first quarter, while also knocking down 7-of-15 (46.7%) from beyond the three-point line and were a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line. On the other hand, Eastern Oregon was a combined 27-for-65 (41.5%) from the field, 13-for-31 (41.9%) from long distance, and 10-for-14 (71.4%) at the charity stripe.

That concludes the season for Corban, as the Warriors will now look forward to the 2021-22 season that is scheduled to begin in the fall.

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