OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Corban University women's basketball team fell to The Evergreen State College on Friday night by a final score of 67-51. The Warriors were forced to play uphill from the onset, struggling to gain offensive momentum in a dry first half of shooting. Corban sank just four of its first 20 shots in the second quarter, contributing to a sizeable early advantage for the home team.
Head coach Bill Pilgeram commented after tonight's contest, "We let them get away from us a little in the 2nd quarter and then played well, winning the second half. We have another chance tomorrow to focus on going out with urgency from the start and playing a complete game."
Corban played tough on defense through the first and second quarters, as the Geoducks went 2-for-13 from beyond the arc in the first 30 minutes of play.
Showing grit and resilience, Corban refused to back down, rattling off 16 points in the third quarter on an impressive 8-of-10 free-throw performance. Gemma LaVergne was a key contributor to the late comeback bid, sinking two triples to ignite the Warrior offense, and Madison Hodnett, Keila Tsutsui, and Kaci Paffhausen added points from the charity stripe.
Unfortunately for Corban, the early deficit would prove to be too much to overcome, as Evergreen—spearheaded by Trinity Betoney—endured the late push and held onto victory.
Turnovers plagued the Warriors in the defeat, with the Geoducks benefiting from 20 Corban giveaways, which led directly to 17 points for the hometown team.
On the night, Corban combined to shoot 16-for-49 (32.7%) which included a 5-12 (41.67%) first-quarter, and 14-20 (70%) from behind the free throw line. On the other hand, Evergreen was a combined 27-for-65 (41.5%) from the field, 4-for-22 (18.2%) from long distance, and 9-for-13 (69.2%) at the charity stripe.
Betoney was rock-solid for the Geoducks. The senior dominated the court for all 36 minutes she was in the contest. Betoney scored a game-high, 28 points, and added three steals, and four rebounds to her remarkable scoring effort.
In addition to Betoney, Sha'nece Garret was the other member of the hometown squad that was in double-digit scoring figures, and Jalyn Sackrider grabbed 12 rebounds and added eight points of her own.
Holly Golenor was the offensive leader for the Navy and Gold, netting 19 points on the evening. She was followed by LaVergne who worked to put up nine points, and three rebounds in her 30 minutes on the hardwood.
Golenor and LaVergne were aided on offense by Gracie McCoy who dished five assists and tallied five steals—enough for game-highs in both categories—and by Paffhausen, who added a pair of assists and six rebounds.
Corban (5-23, 4-17 CCC) returns to action for the final contest of the 2021-22 season tomorrow night in Kirkland, Wash. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m.
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