SALEM, Ore. – A defensive slugfest turned into a downpour of offensive shots that fell in the fourth quarter for the Corban University Women's Basketball team tonight in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, as the Warriors outpaced the Warner Pacific University Knights 26-13 over the final ten minutes of regulation to extend their lead and clinch a 72-55 victory to open Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) play for the 2024-25 season.
"I'm really proud of how we competed tonight, as we've been talking about playing a complete 40 minutes and I really think we did that today," Warriors' head coach Kylie Frizell explained. "In the first half, we had a lot of good looks and were just not shooting the ball super well. Our defense and transition offense kept us in it, and then we talked at halftime about how those are all good shots and to keep shooting with confidence. I'm super proud of our rebounding effort by Maddie and Sevennah!"
In a complete role reversal for Corban women's basketball (3-4, 1-0) competing in their seventh counting contest of the year, a program that has usually dominated the first and third quarters saw much better results in the latter portion of each half to win the second and fourth quarters instead against the Knights (3-3, 0-2), resulting in their 17-point home victory on the first Friday night of December.
While Warner Pacific saw plenty of opportunities throughout the second half to tie the contest up and even take the lead, they could never seem to finish the climb and remain a possession or two behind the Navy and Gold through three quarters before the Warriors finally caught fire from the field in the fourth. Corban converted on 10-of-20 field goals to conclude their matchup with WPU, as their four-point lead entering the final quarter was quickly stretched to double-digits on a three-pointer by senior guard Gemma LaVergne, the first of two for the Emmett, Idaho native in the fourth.
A Knights' layup by guard Amalya Sales cut the deficit to single digits again with 4:49 remaining in the contest, yet back-to-back buckets for the Warriors put the contest back into a 13-point lead for Corban and allowed them to coast to their eventual second-straight win over Warner Pacific.
Senior forward Madison Hodnett was the dominant presence in the paint they've been searching for thus far this season, as she tallied a 10-point and 14-rebound double-double for her first of the season to help power the Corban frontcourt to a 36-22 advantage in the paint. LaVergne added a team-high 14 points along with seven rebounds off the bench, while redshirt junior guard Tori Younker and redshirt sophomore guard Jenna Albrecht each added 12 points apiece.
For WPU, forward Skylar Groesbeck was the game-high scorer with 17 of the Knights' 55 total points, dishing out four assists along the way. Sales was Warner Pacific's threat from distance with half of their three-pointers on the night to earn 14 points, while guard Emily Fortin scored 12 points and hauled in five boards.
The Warriors will be back in action on Tim Hills Court tomorrow afternoon, as they'll host the Multnomah Lions (3-5, 1-1) at 3pm with an opportunity to sweep the Portland schools at home for the third-consecutive season.
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