Emily Gray Grabbed 19 rebounds in Saturday's Loss
EUGENE, Ore. – Senior Center Emily Gray broke a 19-month old rebounding record on Saturday, pulling down 19 boards in a 59-54 defeat at the hands of Corban College. Gray’s double-double also came with 17 points, but was overshadowed by the strong second-half play of Corban point guard Kailey Bostwick, who finished with a game-high 22 points.
The Beacons were ice cold as the game began, shooting a dismal 1-for-15 from the field as Corban built a 16-4 lead over the first nine minutes of the game. NCU warmed up as the first half moved along, getting aggressive as they forced 12 Corban fouls in the opening 20 minutes. Northwest Christian parlayed that aggression into a 10-for-13 performance at the free throw line, helping to climb back to within six, 27-21, before intermission. Katie Steigleman (Sheldon HS) had nine points in the half with seven boards for the Warriors, match by the ten points and eight rebounds from NCU’s McKenzie Gambee.
Northwest Christian continued their momentum into the second half. Trailing 36-27, the Beacons went on an 8-0 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Emily Gray to climb within one, 36-35 with 14:25 to play. The Warriors stole back the momentum almost immediately and in just over two minutes were ahead by 11 after a 10-0 run of their own.
The Warriors controlled the game from there, using 17 second-half points from Bostwick to keep NCU at bay. Head Coach Liz Turner-Bolton said, “We are struggling with our poise down the stretch. We aren’t focusing on strategy or drawn up plays to close out games and that is really hurting us right now.”
Behind the 17-point, 19-rebound effort from Gray, the Beacons (4-8, 0-4 CCC) also had a double-double from McKenzie Gambee, scoring 16 points with 11 rebounds. “I challenged Emily and McKenzie to both be aggressive on the boards today,” said Bolton. “They did a good job underneath.”
Corban College (5-5, 2-1 CCC) also had a strong night from Steigleman, finishing with a double-double, scoring 11 points and 11 rebounds. Monique Tribble came off the bench to score 11, along with seven rebounds.
Northwest Christian will be back in action on January 2nd when they travel to face Eastern Oregon in Cascade Conference action. That game is scheduled for a 5:30 pm start.