SALEM, Ore. – A soon-to-be nationally ranked Arizona Christian University program took advantage of the Corban University Women's Basketball team's inconsistent offensive performance this afternoon in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center to finish 2-0 at the 2024 Corban Classic, with the Warriors succumbing to the Firestorm's full court press and failing to keep pace with ACU's high-octane offensive scheme in an 87-72 final score.
"I'm very proud of how hard we fought for all forty minutes tonight," Corban head coach Kylie Frizell explained. "Arizona Christian is a very talented team. We were down by as many as seventeen points in the first half and we truly stayed together to get it down to just three at one point. We just couldn't get over the hump to keep pace today, and I'm excited for what this group is going to accomplish this season as we continue to grow together."
In a contest that should have been decided in the opening seven minutes after the Firestorm (4-0) unleashed a bombardment of field goals on the Warriors (1-1) and locked up Corban defensively to hold a 22-4 advantage on the scoreboard, the resiliency and "never give up" mentality from the Navy and Gold saw the hometown team eventually crawl back into this matchup as the game progressed into the second quarter despite trailing 25-12 at the first quarter break.
Slowly yet surely the Warriors chipped away at the double-digit Arizona Christian lead, ending the first half on a 13-8 run to trail by three possessions after the first twenty minutes of game clock had expired. Following the halftime horn, redshirt junior guard Tori Younker and sophomore guard Lizzy Bennett would go shot-for-shot with the Firestorm starters and cut the Corban deficit to 43-40 with 8:11 left in the third quarter following an and-one layup plus the free throw from Bennett.
Just as the momentum had clearly swung in favor of the Navy and Gold, an electric 10-0 run by an ACU team that couldn't miss offensively and forced numerous miscues by the Warriors on defense to just nearly put the game out of reach for Corban women's basketball. The home team would have one final push over the first minute of the final period when they cut the Arizona Christian lead back to seven points, yet their efforts would be squashed once again as the Firestorm roared back to life and eventually clinched the 87-72 result in Salem earlier this afternoon.
In her collegiate debut with the Warriors, freshman guard Nina Peterson hopped off the bench for Coach Frizell and made her presence known from beyond the arc, hitting 4-of-7 attempts and eventually matched Younker with 16 points despite playing only 19 minutes. Bennett pitched in another 12 points and hauled in four rebounds alongside Younker, while senior guard Gemma LaVergne scored eight points and snagged a team-high seven boards.
ACU was led by guard Graciela Roybal who caught fire from three-point land this afternoon, scoring on command with 25 points on 50% three-point shooting. Guards Alyssa Alvarez and Lauren Gunn added 17 points apiece for the Firestorm, while forward Emily Till fell one point shy of a double-double with nine points and a staggering 13 rebounds off the glass.
On Tuesday, November 12th, the Warriors will travel north up the I-5 interstate to clash with NCAA DI University of Portland in the squad's lone exhibition matchup during the 2024-25 season, with tipoff scheduled for 6pm at the Chiles Center.
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