Senior Shayla Fetters loves playing against the Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon, as the 5-foot-5 guard scored a combined 50 points this year that includes a career-high 26 Friday night.
Battle For First Place in CCC Goes to Corban
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – In what was touted as the 'CCC Game of the Week,' Corban's nationally-ranked women's basketball team used a hot shooting night en route to defeating the NAIA's No. 8-ranked Eastern Oregon, 74-55, behind a game and career-high 26 points by senior Shayla Fetters Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
With tonight's win, Corban extends its season and conference-high winning streak to seven games improving to 17-5 overall and 11-2 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Eastern Oregon has its six-game winning streak snapped falling to 19-5 overall and 11-3 in league games.
After torching the Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon for 24 points almost one month ago, Fetters hit 10-of-12 shots from the field tonight en route to registering a brand new career-high. The 5-foot-5 guard was joined offensively by freshman Tara Vanweerdhuizen, who scored all 13 of her points in the second half to go along with four rebounds and a career-high tying nine blocked shots. Senior Katie Steigleman, who was making her first start after coming off a six-game absence due to a knee injury, added 10 points, while juniors Emily Tsugawa and Tess Bennett chipped in with nine and eight points, respectively.
As a team, Corban combined to shoot 31-for-49 (63.3%) hitting at least 15 shots each half compared to Eastern Oregon's 28.4% (19-for-67) from the field. The host Warriors knocked down nine shots from beyond the three-point line, while the visiting Mountaineers started the game a perfect 5-for-5 from long distance before going ice cold (1-for-14) the rest of the way. Despite hitting only 3-of-8 free throws, Corban controlled the paint blocking 14 shots. Even though Eastern Oregon hit 11 free throws and won the rebounding battle (39-to-29, including 22 offensive rebounds), Corban's tough defense helped lead the NAIA's No. 13-ranked Warriors to the 19-point win.
Eastern Oregon began the game scoring the opening 10 points and built a quick 10-0 lead before Corban got on the board at the 16:53 mark thanks to a three-pointer by Tsugawa. Despite the visiting Mountaineers continuing to hold the lead thanks to a great defense and hot shooting from beyond the three-point arc, the host Warriors slowly cut into EOU's lead thanks to a 25-15 run over a span of 11-plus minutes to knot the score at 25-25 following a Fetters' three-pointer with 5:25 left. Corban would close out the half on an 11-6 run, as the Warriors took a five-point lead (36-31) into the locker room with Steigleman scoring the final points of the opening twenty minutes via a fast-break lay-in.
The second half would begin with Corban using a 27-9 run in the opening 10-plus minutes en route to building a game-high 23-point lead (63-40) on a three-pointer by senior Becky Buhler at the 9:49 mark. The host Warriors would post two more occasions where the lead was as much as 23 points with the final coming at the 4:58 mark on another three-pointer by Fetters. Eastern Oregon would attempt to cut into Corban's double-digit lead, but could not get any closer than 17 points (72-55) before the host Warriors settled for the 19-point victory (74-55) thanks to a lay-in by junior Christy Mosier in the final seconds.
Eastern Oregon was led offensively by Kyle Miller with 12 points, while two other Mountaineers – Brooke Randall and Kelsea Hurliman – also scored in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Miller and Dominique Johnson led the EOU rebounding attack with six boards each, while also handing out a team-high three assists each.
Both teams will return to action tomorrow night – Saturday, February 4th – with Corban hosting nationally-ranked The College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon traveling to Eugene to take on Northwest Christian. Each game is scheduled to tip-off at 5:30 p.m.