SALEM, Ore. – Despite a late rally that forced a tight race down the stretch, the Corban University Women's Basketball team (6-5, 3-2) stood strong in the clutch against the Walla Walla University Wolves (1-7, 0-5), earning a 65-57 victory Sunday afternoon to kick off the Christmas break on a high note.
"We did a great job of persevering tonight and playing through the runs," Warriors' Head Coach Bill Pilgeram said shortly after his team's victory. "Depth was a big advantage for us tonight, especially after losing one of our key players early in the second half."
Pilgeram went on to say, "Madison came in and had her best night of the season, while Maddie was unstoppable at times today. Now we get to celebrate Christmas after a win and look forward to what 2023 has in store for this team!"
In a closely contested battle between the two Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) foes, the Warriors were able to draw first blood on the opening possession, as junior guard Kirsten Koehnke hit a jumper in the paint that sparked the Corban offense to a 17-11 first quarter margin.
The Wolves were able to tie this game up midway through the second quarter at 23-all, but the Navy and Gold ended the first half on a 9-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Koehnke and junior guard Maddie Godwin that gave them the seven-point halftime advantage.
Walla Walla immediately jumped out of the break to make this contest close once again, as they forced a timeout from Coach Pilgeram just over three minutes into the second half with a 13-8 third quarter vantage. While the Warriors were able to score 16 points in the quarter from htting 41.7% of their field goals, the Wolves scored 24 points in their hottest shooting quarter of the afternoon by going 9-for-16 from the field to take a narrow 49-48 lead into the final quarter.
With 7:12 remaining in the game, WWU guard Jaliyah Casem scored on a fastbreak layup off a steal she nabbed from Godwin, which would prove to be the final lead for Walla Walla this evening. Godwin drove to earn a layup for the next score and Corban was able to fend off the Wolves down the stretch to earn their third conference win of the season.
Warriors' redshirt freshman guard Tori Younker played the role of a combo forward today, as she nabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to add to her eight points and four assists. Godwin scored the team-high in points with 21, while Koehnke followed in part with 19 points and five points.
Forward Chariah Daniels secured the game-high in scoring tonight for Walla Walla, dropping 24 points on 11-for-17 shooting to combine with her eight rebounds. Casem added 17 points to the Wolves' totals as well.
The Warriors earn a long overdue Christmas break following their finals week and recent CCC contests, looking to regroup for their next conference weekend at Northwest University and The Evergreen State College on December 30th and 31st, respectively.
Follow Corban Athletics:
Facebook l Twitter l Instagram l Snapchat l YouTube l Email
Download our App: iOS (iPhone/iPad) l Android
