Senior Jennesa Miller closed out her home career with a 19-point, seven-rebound, seven-assist performance in helping lead Corban to a win over Northwest Christian on Friday.
Corban Streaks Into Playoffs with Win Over NCU
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – A 29-4 run over a span of nine minutes in the first half helped lead Corban's women's basketball team to an 84-76 win over Cascade Collegiate Conference rival Northwest Christian Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
Senior Jennesa Miller (Mica, Wash.) scored a team-high 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists, while four other Warriors – junior Katie Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.), sophomore Emily Tsugawa (Gladstone, Ore.), junior Becky Buhler (Clackamas, Ore.), and sophomore Tess Bennett (Sutherlin, Ore.) – also registered double digits in scoring with 16, 15, 14, and 10 points respectively. Bennett would lead the Warriors in rebounds with a game-high 11 boards, while Tsugawa handed out a game-high tying eight assists.
The first half began with Northwest Christian jumping out to a 16-7 lead after a Martha Taylor three-pointer at the 13:26 mark. Over the next nine minutes, Corban would use a 29-4 run en route to securing an 18-point lead (38-20) after a Tsugawa three-pointer with 4:32 on the clock. The visiting Beacons would fight their way back to within six points (42-36) at halftime thanks to an unconventional four-point play by Sheena Alexander for the final points of the opening period.
Corban would open the second half on a 7-0 run thanks to a Miller jumper with 18:07 left to make the score 49-36 in favor of the home team. Unfortunately, Northwest Christian would not wilt under the pressure as the Beacons used a 20-5 run over a span of seven-plus minutes to tie the score at 56-56 following an Alexander three-point play with 11:58 remaining in the game. Both teams would trade runs over the next two minutes until the score was 61-60 in favor of Corban after a questionable four-point play for the Beacons that included a Kelsey Atkins three-pointer followed by a Hope Williams' free throw with just over nine minutes on the clock. The host Warriors did not let the referee's call defer them from the victory, as Corban used a 14-3 run over the next four-plus minutes that resulted in a 75-63 lead after a Miller fast break lay-in with 4:59 on the clock. Northwest Christian would not get closer than seven points (75-68) the rest of the way, as Corban used timely rebounding over the final three minutes to pick up the hard-fought 84-76 win that helped wrap up no worse than third place in next week's conference tournament with a chance to climb higher pending tomorrow night's results.
Northwest Christian was led in scoring by Alexander with a game-high 22 points, while three other Beacons – Lori Renner, Williams, and Lindsey Shearer – also scored in double figures with 12, 11, and 10 points respectively. On the boards, Williams grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with a game-high tying eight assists by Aly Bruns.
As a team, Corban shot a combined 30-for-59 (50.8%) from the field to go along with a 10-for-16 (62.5%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 14-for-21 (66.7%) performance at the free throw line. On the other hand, Northwest Christian was a combined 28-for-69 (40.6%) from the field, 12-for-23 (52.2%) from long distance, and 8-for-14 (57.1%) at the charity stripe.
With tonight's result, Corban concludes the regular season on a four-game winning streak improving to 18-10 overall and 13-5 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Northwest Christian closes out its regular season with a win-loss record of 10-18 and 6-12 in league games. The Warriors are guaranteed to host at least one playoff game next week on Tuesday, February 22nd, against a yet to be determined opponent at 7:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
NOTE: Be sure to check GoWarriorsGo.com tomorrow evening to find out the complete CCC women's basketball playoff schedule, as the outcome of Saturday's games will be crucial in determining what team will be coming to Salem to take on the Warriors in the quarterfinals of the CCC Tournament.