LA GRANDE, Ore. – What was once a single-point deficit at the halftime break was quickly exaggerated over the course of the second half, as the Corban University Women's Basketball team struggled offensively over the course of the final 20 minutes of regulation on the road against Eastern Oregon University, with the Mountaineers eventually snagging a 64-48 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) win on their home court.

"Unfortunately, tonight we just ran out of gas entering the second half," detailed Corban head coach Kylie Frizell. "I thought we made great adjustments offensively throughout the first two quarters and kept Eastern Oregon out of system defensively, but we started the third quarter slow in transition and at the net and just never recovered."

If it weren't for a last second three-pointer that found the bottom of the basket, the Warriors (5-9, 3-5) would have ended the first quarter trailing on the road against the Mountaineers (8-4, 4-3) but instead were able to secure a 17-17 tie through ten minutes of action. After having been shutout from deep in the first period and scoring just 14 points despite outrebounding EOU in the period 12-10, sophomore guard Teayona Hoard took the space that Eastern Oregon allowed across midcourt and threw up a prayer at the horn, banking off the backboard and hitting the Navy and Gold's first triple of the day.

Another last-minute shot attempt, this time by the Mountaineers, allowed a Corban lead to be extinguished entering the halftime break, as guard Mya Alvarado hit her own backboard triple nearing the end of her team's shot clock possession to eliminate the Warriors' two-point lead and instead force a 30-29 advantage for EOU with one half of basketball still to be played. The Navy and Gold found early success by feeding the ball to senior forward Madison Hodnett and utilizing her significant height advantage by towering over Eastern Oregon's smaller post players, yet the Mounties began to sniff out the passes heading to the interior and forced a handful of Corban miscues to keep themselves narrowly ahead on the scoreboard.

A five-point run to open the second half forced Coach Frizell into an early timeout before Eastern Oregon was able to stretch their lead any further, yet scoring only six points throughout the third quarter put the Corban offense in a play-from-behind entering the fourth quarter with a 43-35 deficit. Neither team was able to set their offense up significantly well in the third, as there were 11 combined turnovers and just seven field goals made in total.

The offensive miscues followed Corban into the fourth quarter while the Mountaineers finally found their footing on their own attacking end of the court while remaining steadfast on defense, eventually holding the Navy and Gold to a single made three-pointer from beyond the arc on the day, represented by Hoard's 30-foot heave to end the first quarter. The Warriors just never found their consistent offensive presence they've developed in the 2024-25 season, resulting in their 16-point road loss to EOU.

Hoard was the leading scorer for Corban women's basketball this afternoon, scoring nine points on 50% field goal shooting and a trio of rebounds. Hodnett added eight points with a game-high 12 boards, while sophomore guard Lizzy Bennett matched Hodnett with eight points of her own, six rebounds, and a pair of steals.

Mounties' guard Kelsie Siegner pestered the Warriors all day long on both ends of the court, as she tallied a game-best 28 points with ten boards for a double-double performance, not to mention four blocks and three steals to lead all defenders as well. Forward Brie Holecek was the only other offensive force with 20 points and five rebounds, as the remainder of the Eastern Oregon lineup was consistent in their limited opportunities that saw the home team capitalize on Corban's 15 turnovers and bringing down double the number of offensive rebounds, 12-6.

The Warriors will head on the road once again next weekend as they make the trek to eastern Washington where they'll visit Walla Walla University (3-10, 0-7) on January 10th for an early afternoon tipoff at 12pm.

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