SALEM, Ore. – The age-old collegiate basketball expression "it's hard to beat the same team three times in one season" was put to rest tonight by the No. 20-ranked Corban University Women's Basketball team, as the Warriors jumped out to a massive first quarter lead against RV Oregon Tech and never looked back in a no-doubter Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament semifinal result on Tim Hills Court, 87-71, that sends the Dubs to their first CCC title matchup since the 2018-19 season.
"I'm just so excited for our team right now, as we have another opportunity to compete for a championship on Monday in a conference that is just so incredibly tough," Warriors' head coach Kylie Frizell detailed. "Tonight was the definition of what we can accomplish when we execute our gameplan for a full forty minutes. OIT is a solid and honestly scary team with how good they are at what they do, and we came out and other than trading a few baskets at the very beginning, shot the ball extremely well and were firing on all cylinders. Obviously, Jersey had a huge game for us, as she was able to get to her sweet spots all night long. We're extremely excited and honored to be in the championship game on Monday against LC State, and we have just one day to prepare for what will undoubtedly be a battle on our home court."
In typical Warrior women's basketball fashion, a scalding hot three-point percentage provided the Navy and Gold (25-5) with all the momentum they could have ever asked for in their home court semifinal matchup with the Lady Owls (19-11), dropping 11 triples on the evening for just over 40% from deep compared to a lowly 13.3% for Tech.
Over a third of redshirt sophomore guard Jersey Huerta's game-high 29 points came in the first quarter alone, as she was 4-for-8 from the field and converted on a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays by laying the ball up and into the hoop, plus the contact. The second quarter was the least efficient period for both programs, but Corban still managed to eke out a two-point margin to lead by 15 points at the halftime horn.
Huerta scored the first five points of the third quarter for the Dubs and sparked a three-point frenzy in the process, with the Warriors stretching their lead up into the twenties by hitting over half of their total shots from beyond the three-point arc in the third period alone. With all the air taken out of the OIT upset potential, both programs cleared the benches early in the fourth quarter and provide their fans with an opportunity to show their appreciation for each team's starting lineup.
Joining Huerta in double-digit scoring tonight for Corban was both redshirt senior guard Tori Younker and sophomore guard Kylie Ihrig who each scored 11 points, while freshman guard Izzy McCauley added ten more points herself. Graduate student center Emilia Bishop controlled the paint with a game-high nine rebounds and swatted a pair of shots into the stands. Defensively, Younker swiped four steals from the Lady Owls.
A near complete game effort from Huerta's CCC Player of the Year competitor, guard Tatum Schmerbach, saw the Tech standout score a team-high 18 points on 50% field goal shooting, yet was held in check in every other statistical category but scoring as she tallied just two boards and two assists. Forwards Avery Andrews and Jozie Ramos scored 18 and 15 points, respectively, while guard Olivia Sprague tacked on 11 more points. Andrews was responsible for all but two of the OIT points off the bench, with the remainder of Tech's total points coming from their starting five.
It'll be an all-Warrior matchup across the Pacific Northwest in both the women's and men's championship matchups, as No. 20-ranked Corban will face off with No. 17-ranked Lewis-Clark State College (23-7) in the ladies' finals, while the Navy and Gold men will travel to No. 23-ranked LC State on Tuesday at 7pm. The nationally ranked clash of Warrior women's teams will take place on Monday at 5:30pm atop Corban's campus inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, and both championship matchups between Corban and Lewis-Clark State will be livestreamed for free on the Urban Edge Network (UEN).
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