SALEM, Ore. – Only on four occasions this season has the No. 22-ranked Corban University Women's Basketball team shot under 30% from beyond the arc and below 65% from the free throw line in a single contest, with half of those coming against RV Southern Oregon University and resulting in losses for the Warriors, who dropped a 71-64 decision on Tim Hills Court this afternoon to fall back a game behind the Raiders and No. 15-ranked Eastern Oregon University for the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) lead as just four games remain on the regular season calendar for all eleven conference members.
"Tonight was a hard fought battle, and Southern is a really good defensive team," began Corban head coach Kylie Frizell. "Unfortunately, we just couldn't make enough winning plays to be able to close out the game. Overall, we did a solid job on the defensive end, but our own turnovers really hurt us. This conference battle is so tough, and we have another tough weekend with C of I and EOU coming to town that will be huge for us to continue to compete for a conference championship."
The defending CCC regular season and tournament champion Raiders (18-6, 13-3) continue to cause headaches across the Pacific Northwest as one of the top defensive programs, with the hot-handed Warriors (19-5, 12-4) struggling to find their consistency from the floor during the second half to concede the season series to SOU despite leading by six at the halftime break.
After holding Southern Oregon to just nine points in the second quarter, foul trouble and offensive miscues resulted in a complete swing in momentum, with 21 total third quarter fouls slowing the pace of play while nearly half of the Dubs' turnovers for the contest came in the third period alone. Tonight's matchup concluded with 48 personal fouls called, the most in a single game this season for the Warriors by six total fouls.
Despite SOU leading for a majority of the second half, the Navy and Gold had a chance to tie with a minute and a half remaining after graduate student center Emilia Bishop was fouled on a made layup, but unable to convert on free throw attempts was one of the main storylines for tonight's result, as Corban six attempts from the charity stripe while the Raiders were 22-of-32. Southern Oregon took nearly double the number of free throw attempts as the Warriors did, 17 to 32.
Both senior forward Mandie Jensen and junior guard Tayla Yost scored 14 points apiece, with Jensen hopping off the bench to play 29 minutes as the Dubs struggled with foul trouble. Six student-athletes finished with four fouls, four with three fouls, and one fouling out from Southern Oregon. Redshirt junior guard Jenna Albrecht added another 12 points with a game-high five assists.
Raiders' All-Conference point guard Bridgette McIntyre claimed the marquee matchup with Corban behind a game-high 22 points and six rebounds, as she played all but one minute tonight and converted on all of her free throws in the fourth quarter. Forwards Eliza DiGiulio and Lydia Traore added another 15 and 12 points, respectively, with the remainder of Southern Oregon's six players to see court time scoring a combined 22 points. Guard Keeley Wright matched Albrecht with five dimes of her own.
Another crucial weekend of CCC action awaits the No. 22-ranked Warriors beginning on Friday, February 13th as they welcome RV College of Idaho (18-6, 12-4) to the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center for a 5:30pm tipoff.
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