PORTLAND, Ore. – Following a difficult result last night in the Rose City, the Corban University Women's Basketball team avenged their first trip to Portland with a bounce-back victory this afternoon over Warner Pacific University, as they held on for a 68-55 decision to lockup a Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) season sweep of the Knights and stretch their winning streak against WPU to three games dating back to last season. All three of the Warriors' wins over Warner Pacific since 2023-24 have been double-digit victories, with the latest installment in the Corban-WPU conference clashes stretching to the 13-point margin in the closing seconds of today's matchup.

"I'm really proud of how the team responded today after last night's tough loss," shared Corban head coach Kylie Frizell. "In spite of not shooting very well from deep tonight, we found a way to win by getting stops defensively and shooting the next shot confidently to string together some great scoring runs."

What the Warriors (9-11, 7-7) lacked in offense today they made up for in stellar defense, as they held the Knights (7-13, 4-10) to 33.3% field goal percentage for the entire contest and just 55 total points scored to represent the third-fewest point total allowed to a conference opponent all season long. While the Corban offense wasn't nearly as potent as usual with a 40% field goal percentage and only 68 points scored themselves, they made the most of their offensive possessions by sharing the rock across the court with 17 of their 27 made field goals having an assist credited on the play.

Led by the senior leadership of forward Madison Hodnett, the Navy and Gold concluded the first quarter with back-to-back buckets in the paint from Hodnett to flip an opening period loss into a narrow one-point lead, ending the quarter on a 6-1 run which carried into a second quarter where they were able to stretch their lead to six points and trade baskets with Warner Pac for the remainder of the period and enter halftime with a two-possession lead.

Halftime adjustments were made by the Knights who rapidly reclaimed the lead with 4:06 remaining in the third quarter, yet a perfectly timed three-pointer by junior guard Mandie Jensen allowed the Warriors to jump back out in front and never trail for the rest of today's matchup in PDX. While a layup from Warner Pacific forward Alex Saunders with six minutes remaining in the contest cut their deficit to just three points, Corban outscored the Knights 17-7 through the remainder of regulation to conclude their weekend with a well-deserved victory and return to .500 in CCC action at 7-7 with eight contests remaining.

Hodnett concluded her evening with 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in a balanced effort from the Nampa, Idaho native, while sophomore guard Lizzy Bennett added 12 more points herself and swatted a game-best three shots into the stands. Jensen pitched in 11 points off the bench, while sophomore guard Teayona Hoard picked three pockets to lead all players in steals.

Warner Pac guard Emily Fortin clinched the game-high scoring mark with 17 points on 5-for-17 shooting and brought down eight rebounds, while guard Amalya Sales added 12 points to represent the only Knights in double-figure scoring today. Forward Alexa Mee was a force on both the defensive and offensive boards with seven and five, respectively, to lead all student-athletes with 12 rebounds.

Corban women's basketball returns to their home court next Friday at 5:30pm as they're scheduled to host Eastern Oregon University (13-6, 9-5) for the first of two weekend conference contests.

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