Sophomore Becky Buhler led Corban in both scoring and rebounding Saturday night against Concordia, as she tallied 18 points and nine boards in the victory.
Corban's Buhler Nets Career-High Versus Cavs
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – Sophomore Becky Buhler (Clackamas, Ore.) tied her career-high with 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field that included a 5-for-8 performance from behind the three-point line, as Corban's women's basketball team upset the NAIA's No. 24-ranked Cavaliers of Concordia, 78-63, Saturday evening inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
With tonight's victory, Corban has won three of its last four games and improves to 8-11 overall and 3-4 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Concordia falls to 9-8 overall and 3-4 in league action.
Buhler was aided by three other Warriors scoring-wise that included sophomore Katie Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.), freshman Tess Bennett (Sutherlin, Ore.), and freshman Emily Tsugawa (Gladstone, Ore.), who tallied 15, 14, and 12 points respectively. On the boards, Buhler grabbed a game-high tying nine rebounds to go along with senior Monique Tribble's (Coquille, Ore.) nine-point, six-rebound effort. Tsugawa also handed out a a game-high eight assists, while Steigleman registered a team-leading four steals.
In the opening half, both teams battled back and forth until the score was knotted at 23-23 following a Buhler three-pointer with 5:14 remaining. Over the final five-plus minutes, Corban used a closing 12-6 run en route to grabbing a halftime advantage of six points (35-29) thanks to an offensive rebound and put back by junior Kayla Shaughnessy (Camano Island, Wash.) for the final points of the opening twenty minutes.
The second half would be another see-saw battle over the opening six-plus minutes, as Concordia crept back to within one point (44-43) thanks to an opening 14-9 run that was capped with a Danielle Clauson jumper with 13:50 left in the game. Over the next four-plus minutes, Corban used a 12-0 run that included five points by Tsugawa en route to grabbing a 13-point advantage (56-43) with 9:16 showing on the clock. The visiting Cavaliers would crawl back to within seven points (68-61) following a Kourtney Craft jumper with 2:44 left in the contest. Unfortunately for Concordia that would be as close as the Cavaliers would get, as Corban used a game-closing 10-2 run that started with another Buhler three-pointer before concluding with a pair of Steigleman free throws for the final tally of 78-63.
Concordia was led by Clauson, who tallied a game-high 28 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field to go along with a 14-for-19 performance at the free throw line. Clauson, who was the only Cavalier to score in double figures, also registered a game-high five steals in 36 minutes of action. Sarah Eischen and a pair of Cavaliers – Megan Padilla and Rachel Bristow – added 9, 7, and 7 points respectively, while Ann Snodderly pulled down a game-high tying nine rebounds for Concordia.
As a team, Corban shot 28-for-61 (45.9%) from the field that included a 15-for-29 (51.7%) performance in the second half. The Warriors were also 8-for-17 (47.1%) from behind the three-point line, while turning in a 14-for-22 (63.6%) showing at the free throw line. On the other hand, Concordia was 21-for-59 (35.6%) from the field to go along with a 2-for-8 (25.0%) performance from long distance and a 19-for-28 (67.9%) showing at the charity stripe.
Corban will return to the court on Friday, January 15th, against The College of Idaho beginning at 5:30 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time) inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center in Caldwell, Idaho.