COLLEGE PLACE, Wash. – The Corban University Women's Basketball team (11-12, 8-9) dropped below .500 overall and in Cascade Collegiate Conference play for the first time in months after falling on the road to the Walla Walla University Wolves (5-15, 4-13) by a final score of 77-66.
"We came back with a lot of urgency and passion in the second half, but had dug ourselves too deep a hole," Warriors' Head Coach Bill Pilgeram shared earlier this afternoon.
"Walla Walla's two scorers were a handful for us today, scoring 56 points on 31 shots. Not being able to defend theme well enough turned out to be the difference," Pilgeram elaborated.
Forcing the Wolves into taking unnecessary shots is what provided the Warriors with an early 14-7 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter, with the return of redshirt freshman Tori Younker providing some great depth on the defensive end of the court that led to transition buckets for Corban.
However, with less than a minute remaining, the Navy and Gold got antsy on defense, leading to fouling the Wolves instead of forcing them to connect on their shots. Walla Walla took advantage to close the gap, leading to a 16-15 score in favor of Corban at the end of the first quarter of play.
The home squad continued their scoring streak into the second period, taking their first lead of the game on a layup from forward Chariah Daniels. Younker eventually tied everything up at 19-all a few plays later, but the Wolves answered with a three of their own to stay out in front.
Walla Walla continued to hold the advantage throughout the second quarter, as foul trouble for Corban required the use of almost the entire bench and put the Wolves at the free throw line on a handful of occasions. What was once a 50% field goal percentage for the Warriors had dwindled to under 40%, and a lowly 20% for the Wolves was now at 50% for the contest. The shift in momentum was clearly in favor of the home team, leading to a 42-26 road deficit for Corban that had snowballed much too quickly.
Younker led the Warriors at the half with eight points, hitting two three-pointers and collecting five rebounds. The combination of Wolves' Daniels and guard Jaliyah Casem is what provided Walla Walla with over half of their offense, as Daniels had already clutched a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds with a whole half still to be played, while Casem had earned 12 points and three assists.
Daniels and Casem could not be stopped offensively as the game carried on, as the two held a combined 16-21 field goal mark midway through the third quarter, hitting their shots from all over the court. The Warriors continued to put up shot attempts, but hardly anything would fall in another losing quarter, now trailing 61-39 and needing to find an answer fast if they had any chance of pulling off a comeback victory.
Despite a valiant fourth quarter effort in which the Warriors outscored the Wolves by 11 points, Corban would begin their four-game road trip with a 77-66 loss to the Walla Walla, giving the Wolves their first ever win over the Corban Women's Basketball program in eight years.
Inconsistent offense and poor defense led to the Warriors' road loss to the Wolves, turning the ball over 15 times and shooting just 38.8% from the field, while Walla Walla shot over 50% from the floor in a game where they couldn't seem to miss.
Corban junior guard Maddie Godwin bounced back in the second half to score a team-high 17 points, adding four rebounds and a pair of steals. Younker tallied eight points and eight rebounds in her return from injury, while senior forward Holly Golenor tallied 14 points and four rebounds.
Wolves' Daniels recorded an impressive 26-point and 15-rebound double-double in the Wolves' third home with this season, while Casem dropped a career-high 30 points in nearly a full game of action.
An even taller task sits in front of the Warriors tomorrow night, as they look to knock off No. 9 Lewis-Clark State College (20-2, 15-1) on the road at 4pm PST.
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