Corban's Jade Lowery knocked down seven-of-nine shots from the field en route to scoring a season-high 19 points, as the Warriors picked up their first win of the season Wednesday against the Wildcats of Linfield.
Hot Shooting Second Half Helps Corban Grab First Win of Season
BOX SCORE
McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Corban University did not show much rust coming off an 11-day layoff, as the Warriors shot over 52% from the field en route to securing their first win of the season with a 77-54 victory over NCAA Division III member Linfield College Wednesday inside Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
Corban (1-2) was led offensively by Tara Vanweerdhuizen with her third straight double-double to open the season, as the third-year Warrior scored a game-high 24 points on 12-for-17 shooting from the field to go along with a team-best 10 rebounds. Vanweerdhuizen was aided offensively by the duo of Jade Lowery and Megan Benedict, as the pair scored 19 and 11 points, respectively. The Warriors' Sadie Pilgeram aided Vanweerdhuizen on the boards with eight rebounds, while Julia Young handed out a game-high five assists.
Linfield (0-3) would get a double-double from Kaely Maltman with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Taylor Solomon added 10 points for the Wildcats. Solomon and Katelyn Henson aided Maltman on the boards with four rebounds each, while April Meads handed out a team-high three assists for Linfield.
In the opening two minutes, Corban would take an early 2-0 lead on a bucket by Vanweerdhuizen in the paint before Linfield tied the game for the only time on a jumper by Henson with 17:44 on the clock. The visiting Warriors would never trail again, as Corban pushed its lead to double digits (18-8) with a 16-6 run over a span of nine minutes with the run ending on a three-point by Benedict with 8:26 left in the opening half. Over the final eight-plus minutes, Corban would slowly increase its lead to a halftime difference of 14 points (35-21) on a three-pointer by the Warriors' Kelli Christenson for the final points of the first half.
The second half would begin with Corban quickly extending its lead to 22 points (45-23) with a 10-2 run that concluded on a three-pointer by Lowery with 17:26 remaining. Linfield would get as close as 12 points (58-46) on a free throw by Maltman before Corban used a 17-4 run over a span of six minutes to push its lead to a game-high 25 points (75-50) on a jumper by Pilgeram with 2:33 on the clock. Both teams would trade baskets over the final two-plus minutes, as Corban settled for the 23-point win (77-54) to give the Warriors their first win of the season.
As a team, Corban combined to shoot 32-for-61 (52.5%) from the field that included a scorching 63.0% (17-of-27) in the second half. The Warriors were also 7-of-18 (38.9%) from beyond the three-point line and 6-of-10 (60.0%) at the free throw line. On the other hand, Linfield was a combined 15-of-50 (30.0%) from the field, 5-of-21 (23.8%) from behind the arc, and 19-of-29 (65.5%) at the charity stripe.
Corban will return to action on Saturday, November 23rd, in the Warriors' first game at the TCSA/DAP Hoops Classic against San Diego Christian College beginning at 4:00 p.m. on the campus of Simpson University in Redding, California.