Concordia Completes 19-Point Comeback in Win over Corban
SALEM, Ore.— After watching its opponent go on a 26-8 run to create a 19-point lead, Concordia University responded with a 29-7 run of its own to stun Corban College in Cascade Collegiate Conference women’s basketball action on Tuesday.
With the result, Concordia moved back to the .500 mark with an 8-8 overall record and matched its conference win total from a year ago with a 4-2 mark in league play. Corban dropped to 6-10 overall and 2-4 in the CCC.
With 11 lead changes and three ties in the first half before a 13-4 finish put Corban up by eight points at intermission, the game looked like a classic back-and-forth affair. The Warriors kept their momentum following the break with a 15-4 spurt to open up the 19-point advantage with 14:26 left in the period.
The Warriors would not get another basket for the next 11 minutes, missing their next 10 shot from the floor while committing eight turnovers. Meanwhile, Concordia scored 20 unanswered points with Sarah Eischen (Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro H.S.), Danielle Clauson (Ridgefield, Wash./Prairie H.S.) and Maryam Razavi (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin H.S.) each registering two field goals during the span.
With a pair of free throws by Razavi with just over five minutes remaining, Concordia moved to within one before an Ann Snodderly (Portland, Ore./Franklin H.S.) jumper gave the Cavs its first lead of the second half with the game resting at 51-50.
Kailey Bostwick (Medford, Ore.) made the lead a short-lived event with a three-point dagger at the 3:33 mark, almost 11 minutes since the Warriors previous point.
A jumper by Clauson and a free throw by Benedict gave the Cavs a three-point advantage with 1:40 left. The teams would trade free a pair of free throws while a Jessica Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) jumper from inside the paint with six seconds remaining pulled Corban to within one.
Providing the Warriors with a final opportunity, the Cavs Haley Roth (Silverton, Ore./Silverton H.S.) missed the opening end of a 1-and-1 and Margie Lou Corell (Ephrata, Wash.) pulled down the rebound but could not get a final shot off.
“We called timeout and got just got refocused,” Concordia head coach Aaron Christian said. “We told them they needed to play with some more heart and we started to chip at the lead getting one stop at a time. Our kids had confidence and they executed perfectly down the stretch.”
Bostwick scored a game-high 19 points, including hitting 5-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc. Clauson led the Cavs with 16 points.
For the game, Concordia shot 39.3 percent from the floor, a slight edge on the 38.7 rate for the Warriors. Corban outrebounded Concordia 43-41 but committed four additional turnovers, 21 to 17. Compared to only five offensive rebounds in the first, twelve caroms on the offensive side in the second period helped key the Cavalier comeback.
Neither team shot well from the free throw line as Concordia managed only nine points from 20 attempts for 45 percent. Corban hot 3-of-8 from the charity stripe for 37.5 percent.
Concordia will next take the court in a conference match at Warner Pacific College on Jan. 11. Opening tip is set for 5:30 p.m. Also playing on Friday, Corban will travel to Cascade with a 5:30 p.m. start time.
“We returned our entire nucleus from last year and added some quality new players,” Christian said. “I know we can play at a high level when everyone is gelling.”