Malori Dixon led all scorers with 25 points against Corban on Saturday.
Cavs Pull away in Final Minutes to Defeat Corban
BOX SCORE - Concordia vs. Corban
PORTLAND, Ore.—Trailing 76-75 with just over two minutes remaining, Concordia University scored nine straight points to successfully defend their home court with an 85-79 win against Corban University on Saturday night.
With the win, Concordia improved to 7-11 overall and 2-7 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action. Corban fell to 4-15 on the season and 1-8 in league games.
With Julia Young scoring 12 of her 17 points in the opening minutes, Corban dominated the first 10 minutes of play, generating a 25-16 lead in the process.
The Cavaliers responded in the second half of the first period; retaking the lead (31-30) on a McKenna Daly jumper at the 5:44 mark. With Gabi Beyer and Malori Dixon combining for 17 points as part of a 21-3 run to finish the half, the Cavs continued the pace en route to a 45-33 advantage at the break.
Not missing a beat in the second half, a Grace Cappleman jumper pushed the Concordia lead to 13 points with 12 minutes remaining.
Facing their largest deficit of the game at 63-50, Corban whittled away the Concordia lead over the next four minutes, eventually tying the game at 67-67 with the help of a pair of 3-pointers by Megan Benedict.
The Cavs held off Corban until a 3-pointer by Emily Tsugawa gave the Warriors a 74-72 lead with 2:21 remaining.
Taking a cue from Tsugawa, Beyer returned down the court for a 3-pointer of her to retake the lead for the Cavs. Free throws dominated play over the next couple of possessions as Tsugawa and Dixson each drained a pair of attempts to change the scoring favor on two more occasions.
Giving CU a 77-76 lead, Dixon’s touch proved to be the final lead switch as the Cavs finished the game on a 10-2 run to close out the home win.
In seven attempts, six of the Cavs’ final 10 points came at the charity stripe while Corban missed four out of five from long range in the final minutes while trying to stay within reach.
Despite being on the losing end, Corban outshot the Cavs 43.5 percent to 40.7 percent in the contest, but was dominated on the boards as Concordia grabbed a 52 to 33 edge on the glass.
Dixon led all scorers with 25 points while fellow Cavalier Beyer finished with 19. McKenna Daly nearly registered a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Tsugawa led the Warriors with 21 and was followed by 17 points from Young and 11 points from Tess Bennett.
Concordia will return to action on Jan. 15 when it travels to face New Hope Christian in Eugene, Ore. Corban will next take the court on Jan. 18 when it hosts Northwest University