Warner Pacific's Chelsey Christensen scored a game-high 27 points in 11 of 16 shooting against Concordia on Saturday.
Warner Pacific Ousts Cavs in Rival Match
BOX SCORE - Concordia vs. Warner Pacific
PORTLAND, Ore.--The Warner Pacific women’s basketball team beat Concordia 69-57 on Saturday, overcoming a strong start from the Cavaliers to win by double digits.
The Knights improve to 11-8 overall and 7-3 in the CCC with the win, while the Cavaliers drop to 8-12 overall and 2-8 in the CCC with the loss.
Concordia ran out to an early lead in the game, leading by as many as six points in the opening ten minutes of play. Concordia led 15-9 with 12:35 to go after Kelly Huey followed a three-pointer from teammate Gabi Beyer with a quick steal and lay-up.
The Knights quickly got back to within one with five straight points, though, then tied it up at 19-19 off a three-pointer from Taylor Wofford with 8:50 left in the half. The Knights surged after Wofford’s three-pointer, scoring 11 straight points after the trey to take a 30-19 lead with 3:43 before halftime.
Concordia didn’t score again until Huey hit a jumper with 3:20 left, breaking nearly a six minute string without scoring a point. Huey added a free throw with 24 seconds left, but the Knights took a 32-23 advantage into the break.
Once in the second half, the Knights never let the home team to within seven points as they closed out the Cavs with relative ease. Concordia did try to make it interesting late, cutting a 15-point Knights lead to seven with a 9-1 run with under four minutes to go. The Knights responded by bringing their lead back to double digits before making all eight of their foul shots with under two minutes to play to ice the win.
Overall, the Knights’ Chelsey Christensen and Nichole Jackson dominated the game as Christensen led all players with 27 points, while Jackson finished with 12 points and 12 assists. Outside of those two, Wofford had 10 points for the Knights, while Morgan Wolff and Tori Carroll each had nine.
On the flip side, Beyer led the Cavs with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting (3-of-7 three-pointers). Besides her, Malori Dixon cracked double digits with 11 points, while Huey filled the stat sheet with nine points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals.
As a team, the Knights handled the Cavs’ defense, outshooting Concordia .455-to-.435 in the game. The Knights also forced the Cavs into 22 turnovers on Saturday while only committing 13 turnovers of their own.
Both Concordia and Warner Pacific return to action next weekend as they travel to play Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon. Both teams open the weekend at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 25 with the Cavs at Oregon Tech and Warner Pacific at Southern Oregon.