ASHLAND, Ore. – Coming home early after getting knocked out of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament certainly wasn't what the Corban University Women's Basketball team had in mind as they made the three and a half-hour journey to southern Oregon. Nevertheless, the Warriors can hold their heads high after putting the defending conference champions in multiple upset scenarios as the night grew longer, with No. 22-ranked Southern Oreogn University escaping with a 71-55 quarterfinal victory on their home floor in front of a rambunctious Raider crowd.
"I am very proud of the effort this team put out tonight," Warriors' head coach Bill Pilgeram shared shortly after his team's postseason loss. "God put an amazing group of young women together who represented Him and Corban University to their utmost ability. The seniors who played their final game left everything on the court and will leave a legacy of love and passion behind that will last forever. I am honored and blessed to be their coach!"
The Warriors (8-21) gave the Raiders (25-4) everything they could handle through the first seven minutes of the opening quarter tonight, leading on multiple occasions against the reigning conference champions on their own home court. Following the media timeout, Southern Oregon finally figured out how to break the Corban zone defense, resulting in a myriad of three-pointers for the hometown program, just as in their previous matchup in Ashland last January.
Every time the Navy and Gold would start to chip away at the SOU lead and into single-digits and a few possessions from taking the lead, the Raiders would distance themselves once again with a timely three-point shot. Corban also had multiple key players in foul trouble after 14 total team fouls by both programs in the opening half.
With 4:36 left in the second quarter, the Raiders would score their final bucket of the half on a midrange jumper, then proceed to go on the longest scoring drought of the game by any team thus far, with the Warriors going on an 8-0 run to the end the opening half and trail by only five in the quarterfinal round at 34-29.
Freshman guard Autumn Agnew stepped up and carried the scoring load through 20 minutes of action with 12 points after Warriors' leading scorer, senior guard Maddie Godwin, was called for her third foul midway through the second quarter. Godwin was right behind with seven points despite only playing 10 minutes thus far.
Southern Oregon's 40% field goal percentage from beyond the arc was the only differentiating factor thus far, as Corban was right behind on the offensive end and nearly matched the Raiders' 13 total field goals with 12 shots made of their own. The turnover margin was nearly identical even despite the Warriors throwing the ball away on three-straight possessions, while the Navy and Gold also boxed out and secured a 19-18 rebounding advantage with an entire half left to be played.
After keeping pace with the conference champs through the opening minutes of the third period, Southern Oregon slowly but surely started to distance themselves from Corban once again, forcing a timeout from Coach Pilgeram after forward Kami Walk splashed a corner three-pointer in front of the SOU student section. Three-point shooting continued to be the only thing keeping the Raiders comfortably ahead on their home court, as the Warriors were doing all the right things they needed to do in order to keep themselves in this contest.
Walk's longball shot kicked off a three-ball streak for the Raiders on the next three possessions all while holding the Navy and Gold scoreless that eventually resulted in a 57-40 lead for SOU heading into the fourth and final quarter. The Raider's had increased their three-point consistency to over 46% through three quarters, while Corban continued to struggle from beyond the arc at 25% overall.
Despite the double-digit lead, the determined Warriors continued to grind in the paint and hold the Raiders to a poor shooting performance throughout the fourth quarter. However, even though the Warriors outscored SOU in both the second and fourth quarters, the damage that Southern Oregon had done with their 10 three-pointers over the first and third periods proved to be too much of a deficit for Corban to make back up, falling 71-55 in quite possibly their best overall game played in weeks despite the addition to the loss column.
The Navy and Gold were able to exploit multiple weaknesses in the Raiders' defense with a 13-8 advantage in second chance points scored, not to mention a 42-40 rebounding advantage over one of the best rebounding teams in the NAIA. Allowing eight 16 points off their 15 team turnovers didn't help in the grand scheme of tonight's game from the perspective of Coach Pilgeram but was still considerably lower than in more recent games where turnovers were the constant vulnerability for the majority of minutes played.
An inconsistent night from range and the free throw line played a big factor in tonight's contest, with the Warriors constantly having to drive to the hoop or take a contested midrange jumper instead, resulting in their nearly identical field goal percentage with SOU, 38% to 36%. Having to play more contained within the bounds of the three-point line allowed Corban to establish their post play early, nearly outscoring the Raiders in the paint 30-26 despite a significant height advantage at nearly every position.
In her final collegiate basketball game, Godwin finished with a team-high 17 points and six rebounds in the key, shooting nearly 50% from the field and connecting on two of her three attempts from distance, the only Warrior to hit multiple three-pointers in tonight's contest. Agnew chipped in 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while senior guard Kirsten Koehnke concluded her Corban women's basketball legacy with six points, four boards, and three dimes.
The lone double-double of tonight's matchup belonged to Raiders' guard Meghan McIntyre, as she scored 18 points and secured 11 rebounds, while nearly clinching a triple-double with seven assists. Guard Izzy Hernandez dropped the game-high scoring mark with 19 points, while Walk followed with 15 points and seven rebounds to help provide her team with just enough momentum to oust the No. 8-seeded Warriors on their home floor.
Corban finishes the 2023-24 season with an 8-21 overall record and completed a 7-15 run through CCC play, securing their second-straight postseason bid and eighth in the past ten seasons. Coach Pilgeram will graduate four senior student-athletes (Godwin, Koehnke, Gemma LaVergne, and Rebekah Everest) while returning 13 rostered players in 2024-25, in addition to the three incoming recruits that have already signed to play in the navy and gold threads.
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