Junior Katie Steigleman led a quartet of Warriors in double figures with 16 points Saturday, as Corban earned a blow out win over cross town rival Willamette.
Corban's Second Half Equals One-Sided Victory
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – In a non-conference contest against cross town rival and NCAA Division III member Willamette, Corban's women's basketball team turned a five-point halftime lead into a 30-point blow out victory, 79-49, thanks to three different second half runs Saturday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
Junior Katie Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) led a quartet of Warriors in double figures with a game-high 16 points, while junior Becky Buhler (Clackamas, Ore.), senior Jennesa Miller (Mica, Wash.), and sophomore Tess Bennett (Sutherlin, Ore.) added 14, 13, and 13 points respectively. On the boards, senior Rachel Harter (Grass Valley, Calif.) pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with 10 boards each by Miller and Bennett. Steigleman would hand out a game-high five assists and registered a game-high tying three steals, while Miller and Harter dished out four assists each. Buhler led Corban's block party with five, while Harter denied two Bearcats shots.
The opening half was a back-and-forth battle that saw Corban grab the largest lead (27-21) following a Miller free throw with 2:34 on the clock. Willamette would pull to within two points (27-25) thanks to a mini 4-0 run over a span of 100 seconds before Corban settled for a five-point halftime lead (30-25) thanks to another Miller free throw.
Corban would open the second half on an 11-4 run en route to increasing its lead to 10 points (41-31) at the 15:33 mark. Over the next three-plus minutes, the host Warriors would use an 11-0 run that helped increase the advantage to 21 points (52-31) after a pair of free throws by freshman Alison Evans (Canby, Ore.) with 12:21 remaining. Willamette would snap the Warriors' run with a lay-in by Sophie Wilson before Corban used a 12-0 run over a span of three-plus minutes that pushed Corban's lead to 31 points (64-33) after a Bennett lay-in with 7:39 on the clock. The Warriors would continue to hold at least a 27-point lead over the final seven-plus minutes before settling for a 30-point victory (79-49), as senior Ashlee Roderick (Yuba City, Calif.) capped the game's scoring with a jumper in the final minute.
Willamette was led by Kaileigh Westermann with eight points and seven rebounds, while Alex Zennan and Shayna Glenn added seven points each. On the boards, Westermann was aided by Glynn's six-rebound performance to go along with Zennan and Maya McFaddin's two assists each.
On the night, Corban shot a combined 29-for-68 (42.6%) that included an 18-for-36 (50.0%) showing over the game's final twenty minutes. The Warriors also turned in a 4-for-12 (33.3%) performance from beyond the three-point arc and a 17-for-33 (51.5%) showing at the free throw line. On the other hand, Willamette was a combined 19-for-65 (29.2%) from the field, 3-for-15 (20.0%) from long distance, and 8-for-10 (80.0%) at the charity stripe.
With tonight's win, Corban pushed its winning streak to two games and improves to 3-4 overall. Meanwhile, Willamette drops its third straight game and falls to 1-6 overall. The Warriors will be back in action on Tuesday, December 7th, against NCAA Division III member Pacific University of Oregon beginning at 7:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.