EUGENE, Ore. – 14th-ranked Corban University held onto their share of the Cascade Collegiate Conference lead on Friday night, defeating Northwest Christian University, 63-53. The Warriors collected 14 blocked shots in the game and held NCU to just 25% shooting.
The Beacons jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the game as they held Corban without a field goal for the first three-and-a-half minutes of the game. The Warriors responded, taking their first lead at 7-5, but an Aly Bruns three-pointer pushed NCU back ahead. Corban then went on a 21-8 run, building their lead to as many as twelve points. Northwest Christian once again pulled back into the game and was down 35-31 at the intermission.
Lindsey Shearer scored 16 points in the first half to lead all scorers and NCU turned the ball over just two times over the first 20 minutes. Emily Tsugawa led the Warriors with 14 points in the half.
The Beacons, however, had six turnovers in the early goings of the second half as Corban increased their margin to as many as 16 before taking the ten-point win.
The Warriors (16-5, 10-2 CCC) were led by Tsugawa, finishing the night with 20 points, adding six assists. Freshman Center Tara Vanweerdhuizen (pictured) had another dominant night in the post, scoring 18 points, eleven rebounds and seven blocked shots. Corban blocked 14 NCU shots in the game, including four more from Becky Buhler.
NCU (9-15, 1-11) was led by Shearer who ended the evening with a double-double, scoring 20 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Bruns was the only other Beacon in double-figures, scoring ten. Martha Taylor continued her torrid pace on the board, grabbing 12 rebounds. The 5-5 guard has collected 32 rebounds over her past three games. The Beacons out-rebounded Corban 54-49 and collected 13 steals, including three each from Shearer and Kelsey Atkins.
NCU will be back in action next Friday, playing host to The College of Idaho at 5:30 pm. Corban will be home against No. 8 Eastern Oregon in a battle for first place in the CCC.