LEWISTON, Idaho – A single win now sits between the RV Corban University Women's Basketball team and their first Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Regular Season Championship in over fifteen years, as the Dubs can clinch at least a share of the 2025-26 CCC Championship title tomorrow night with a win after going into western Idaho and stunning No. 12-ranked Lewis-Clark State College by a finale of 70-64 tonight in a battle of first place teams.
"I just can't say enough about how proud I am of this team," began Warriors' head coach Kylie Frizell on the cusp of her first regular season championship in just her second year as the program leader. We talked a lot about the adjustments we needed to make from the last time we played LC State, specifically on the defensive end of the court. I challenged them to hold LC to under 65 points if they wanted to win this game, and they did exactly that. Ultimately, it was a game of runs in a championship-styled matchup, and the team that made more championship-minded plays won tonight's game. We still need to take care of business tomorrow against Walla Walla and stay grounded to our 'one game at a time' mentality. I just couldn't be happier for such a great group of young women we have representing Corban University."
The Navy and Gold (22-5, 15-4) snapped a nearly 23-year losing skid to the Warriors of LC State (20-7, 14-5) in an absolute momentum whiplash tonight inside the P1FCU Activity Center, as each squad exchanged the baton moving from each quarter in a contest where both teams regained the lead on multiple occasions, forced three ties, and each led by at least nine points over varying stretches of game time.
With just one game remaining on the regular season schedule for either squad, both programs entered tonight's contest with certainty that whoever emerges victorious will be in the hypothetical driver's seat within the conference standings and in theory, clinch at least a share of the conference crown. LC State held all the advantage in their previous meeting on Corban's home court, winning by 20 points in a contest where the then visiting Warriors couldn't miss offensively.
Now on LC State's home court, the Dubs refused to back down from their biggest challenge to date deep in enemy territory, eventually falling behind 25-16 after the first quarter before roaring back to take a seven-point lead into the halftime break following a second period where they held the hosts to just eight points while scoring 24 points of their own. First quarter lulls continue to be a trend with this Corban women's basketball squad, yet their second quarter answers also follow in suit as their quest for a deep postseason run draws near.
The pendulum swung back in Lewis-Clark State's favor to start the second half, as they hit 62% of their field goals in the third period to flip a seven-point deficit into a five-point lead entering the final ten minutes of regulation. Corban quickly pulled to within one on a layup from junior guard Tayla Yost, yet LC State stretched their lead back to five by the final media timeout.
The upperclassmen leadership shined bright in today's road upset, with redshirt senior guard Tori Younker's pair of free throws out of the media timeout sparking a 7-0 Corban run that was emphasized by a Younker triple from the right wing. However, Lewis-Clark State answered with a three on their very next possession but would eventually represent the final points scored on the night for LC State with over three minutes still to be played.
Graduate student center Emilia Bishop provided the Navy and Gold with their final lead of the night on a pair of free throws, and redshirt sophomore guard/CCC Player of the Year candidate Jersey Huerta put LC State on ice with a long-range three-pointer banked in from the left wing with 45 seconds remaining. Redshirt junior guard Jenna Albrecht closed the game out at the free throw line, and the Warriors emerged with the season-defining upset in Lewiston, 70-64.
Albrecht continues to light up the scoreboard as the 2025-26 season progresses, as she scored a game-high 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting, 5-for-7 from deep, alongside four rebounds and four assists. Huerta pitched in another 14 points and six assists, while Bishop tallied her fifth double-double of the season behind 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Younker provided 12 points that featured a trio of massive three-pointers.
LC State guard Kendall Wallace scored a game-high 20 points and brought down six rebounds while representing one of three hometown Warriors to play more than 33 minutes, with guard Sitara Byrd falling one board shy of a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds. The remainder of the Lewis-Clark State roster scored a combined 27 points compared to Wallace and Byrd's combined 37 points.
A "CCC After Dark" regular season finale awaits the Navy and Gold tomorrow in southeastern Washington, as they'll make a pitstop in College Place to battle Walla Walla University (3-22, 1-18) on the Wolves' Senior Night before heading back to the Willamette Valley, looking to play spoiler and clinch at worst a share of the 2025-26 CCC Championship title. Tipoff is scheduled for 7pm inside Windemuth Court.
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