ASHLAND, Ore. – For the second-straight day, the Corban University Women's Basketball battled difficult travel conditions to find themselves with an opportunity down the stretch against an NAIA Top 25 opponent, falling by a duplicated score of 70-60 earlier this afternoon to No. 4-ranked Southern Oregon University, their closest margin against the Raiders since 2022-23 on their home court and 2019-20 for contest played out in Ashland. The contest start was delayed thirty minutes due to the harsh winter weather across southern Oregon impacting Corban's travel, yet the Navy and Gold were still able to keep the Raiders within striking distance for much of today's matchup.
"We truly competed for the full forty minutes and I'm really proud of our team," Warriors' head coach Kylie Frizell stated "There's a reason why SOU is the number four team in the nation. I'm extremely pleased with the play out of Mandie, she has been super solid for us this weekend!"
Despite trailing for the entirety of today's contest, the Warriors (10-14, 8-10) bent but never broke against their nationally ranked and undefeated Raider (23-0, 17-0) foes, as Southern Oregon would stretch their halftime lead to as many as 17 points before the Navy and Gold battled back each and every time to never bow out in a difficult road environment.
With seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, senior guard Alyssa Wyllie scooped a layup in to cut the deficit to eight points and force the Raiders into a timeout, but back-to-back offensive boards on SOU's ensuing possession eventually resulted in a Corban foul and started a 9-3 run for the host institution. The Navy and Gold cut the lead to eight points once again later in the period, but only 39 seconds remaining allowed Southern Oregon to secure the victory at the free throw line.
Junior guard Mandie Jensen put together another sensational effort off the bench for Coach Frizell, scoring a team-best 13 points with six boards in a season-high 26 minutes played for the Sherwood native. For the sixth time in an eight-game span, sophomore guard Lizzy Bennett dropped double-digit points with ten more today in Ashland, along with six rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes played. Redshirt sophomore guard Jenna Albrecht scored an additional ten points with three assists, while redshirt junior guard Tori Younker tied Jensen for the team-high scoring mark with 13 points and a pair of steals.
The Raiders were led offensively by guard Emma Schmerbach and forward Morgan Baird who each scored 14 points apiece in starting roles, with Schmerbach nearly clinching a double-double with nine rebounds off the glass. Three additional SOU players were in double-figure scoring, including guard Meghan McIntye who scored ten points and dished out a game-best four assists.
The two-week long road trip continues into next Friday for the Warriors, as they'll travel to Northwest University (6-18, 5-13) for round two against the Eagles at 5:30pm.
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