New Year Not Kind to Warriors against Hustlin' Owls
SALEM, Ore. – As the calendar turned to 2008, Corban's women's basketball team fell to the Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech, 55-37, despite a team-high 10 points each by senior Jessica Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) and sophomore Emily Goette (Aumsville, Ore.) Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
Despite trailing by a mere three points (23-20) at halftime, the host Warriors watched as Oregon Tech began torching the nets from long distance making five three-point baskets in the second half en route to scoring 32 points over the game's final twenty minutes.
In a see-saw battle over the opening 14-plus minutes of the game, both teams combined to score 25 points (13-12 in favor of Oregon Tech) before the two squads combined to record nine made field goals before heading into the locker room for halftime.
In the second half, Oregon Tech opened with a 10-2 run over the first 2:40 en route to securing an 11-point advantage (33-22) and then never looked back. The visiting Hustlin' Owls grabbed their largest lead of the game (53-33) with 3:37 left following back-to-back free throws by Jenni Miller and then cruised to the win, as Corban could only muster two made field goals over the game's final three-plus minutes.
Along with Steigleman and Goette, a trio of players -- junior Ashley Connell (Spokane, Wash.), junior Margie Lou Correll (Ephrata, Wash.), and freshman Jennesa Miller (Mica, Wash.) -- added four points each, while Goette pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and Connell handed out a team-high five assists.
Oregon Tech was led by Crystal Idrogo's game-high 23 points off the bench as the Hustlin' Owls' leading scorer shot 11-for-16 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds in 23 minutes of play. Jenna Ball, Cora McVey, and Miller added 13, 7, and 7 points respectively while Meagan Miyasaka pulled down a team-best eight rebounds for OIT.
As a team, Corban shot 17-for-52 (32.7%) from the field including 3-for-8 (37.5%) from the free throw line. On the other hand, Oregon Tech was 22-for-60 (36.7%) from the field including 5-for-17 (29.4%) from beyond the arc and 6-for-13 (46.2%) from the charity stripe.
With the loss, Corban falls to 6-8 overall, 2-2 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Oregon Tech improves to 11-4 overall, 3-2 in CCC action. The Warriors will return to the floor on Saturday, January 5th, against nationally-ranked Southern Oregon beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.