Steigleman's 25 Points Not Enough in Corban's Loss to EOU
SALEM, Ore. – On a night when senior Jessica Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) was honored for becoming the all-time leading scorer in Warrior women's basketball history, Corban's women's basketball team fell to the Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon, 76-67, Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
As the 5-foot-10 forward led the Warriors with a team-high 25 points on 10-for-26 shooting from the field, Steigleman led a balanced attack that showed Corban possibly turning the corner for the second half of the conference season.
The Warriors held an early four-point lead (6-2) as junior Ashley Connell (Spokane, Wash.) and freshman Rachel Harter (Grass Valley, Calif.) connected on three of Corban's first four shots. Unfortunately, the nationally-ranked Eastern Oregon squad came back and took the lead (9-6) as Sheena Henderson scored the Mountaineers' first nine points on 4-for-4 shooting from the field including a free throw. After a jumper from sophomore Emily Goette (Aumsville, Ore.) that tied the game at 11-all, Eastern Oregon used an 8-0 run to grab a 19-11 lead and never looked back. Eastern Oregon's largest lead of the opening half came with 4:29 remaining, as the Mountaineers secured a 14-point advantage (34-20) before settling for the half time lead of nine points (41-32).
In the second half, Corban got within six points (59-53) with 7:27 to go in the contest following a lay-up by freshman Jennesa Miller (Mica, Wash.). Unfortunately, the Warriors could not get any closer as Eastern Oregon used timely free throw shooting down the stretch. The Mountaineers' final eleven points came at the charity stripe, as Eastern Oregon went 11-for-12 over the game's final 4:54 en route to keeping its unblemished conference record in tack.
Along with Steigleman's performance, Connell, Miller, and junior Kailey Bostwick (Medford, Ore.) added 9, 8, and 8 points respectively. On the boards, Steigleman grabbed a team-high nine boards to go along with Miller's six and Goette's five.
Eastern Oregon was led by Sheena Henderson, who scored a game-high 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting from the field to go along with a perfect 3-for-3 performance at the free throw line. Along with Henderson, Salena Leavitt, Laura Olson, and Tiffanie Ulmer added 18, 13, and 11 points respectively. Henderson also led the Mountaineers with a game-high 10 rebounds, while Leavitt and Elise Hawes pulled down six boards each.
As a team, Corban shot 29-for-65 (44.6%) from the field including 7-for-15 (46.7%) from behind the three-point line and a mere 2-for-4 (50.0%) from the free throw line. On the other hand, Eastern Oregon was 25-for-53 (47.2%) from the field that included performances of 1-for-3 (33.3%) from beyond the arc and 25-for-29 (86.2%) from the charity stripe.
With the loss, Corban falls to 6-13 overall, 2-7 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Eastern Oregon improves to 15-1 overall, 9-0 in CCC action. The Warriors will return to the floor on Saturday, January 19th, when Corban host the nationally-ranked Lady 'Yotes of The College of Idaho beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
NOTE: Tomorrow night's game will be taped by Capital Community Television and replayed through the next week, as times will be announced on Monday, January 21st.