Corban's Tara Vanweerdhuizen recorded career-highs in rebounds and blocked shots, as the Warriors opened CCC play with a victory over rival Northwest Christian Saturday in Eugene.
Vanweerdhuizen's Near Triple-Double Helps Corban Pick Up Win Against Rival NCU
BOX SCORE
EUGENE, Ore. – Behind a near triple-double by Tara Vanweerdhuizen, Corban University opened the Cascade Collegiate Conference season with a 70-59 victory over rival Northwest Christian University Saturday inside the Morse Event Center.
After having the game delayed twenty-four hours due to winter weather in Salem and then moving the game to Eugene due to icy conditions around Corban's campus, the Warriors (4-5, 1-0 CCC) had three players score in double figures en route to snapping a two-game losing streak against Northwest Christian (3-5, 0-1 CCC).
Corban's duo of Julia Young and Jade Lowery combined to score 45 points, as Young provided a game and career-high 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field that included a 4-for-5 showing from beyond the three-point line. Lowery was 8-for-12 from the field and 3-of-6 from long distance en route to scoring a career-high 21 points, while Vanweerdhuizen added 10 points, a game and career-high 21 rebounds, and a game and career-high tying nine blocked shots. Vanweerdhuizen also handed out a game-high four assists to go along with a team-high two steals by Lowery.
NCU was led by Andrea Gloss with team-high totals of 14 points and nine rebounds, while Hannah Fredrick also scored in double figures with 10 points. Fredrick and Allie Kelsey handed out a team-high two assists each, while Fredrick registered a game-high four steals for the Beacons.
After back-to-back lay-ups by Gloss opened the game and handed NCU a 4-0 lead, Corban used an 8-0 run over a span of 90 seconds en route to taking an 8-4 lead on a jumper by Young with 16:19 on the clock. Northwest Christian took its final lead of the game at the 15:32 mark on a lay-in by Gloss that gave the Beacons a 9-8 lead before Corban scored eight unanswered points over a span of two minutes that resulted in a 16-9 lead after a lay-in by Lowery with 13:49 left. Over the next five minutes, Northwest Christian used a 9-3 run to pull within a single point (19-18) on a back-to-back free throws by Chandler Gabrio with 8:52 left. Corban would quickly push its lead to 11 points (29-18) with a 10-0 run over a two-minute span that concluded with a Vanweerdhuizen lay-in with 6:52 remaining. NCU would pull within four points (31-27) on a pair of free throws by Tami Brown before Corban closed the opening half on a 7-0 run that resulted in an 11-point lead (38-27) at halftime after Young scored the final points via a three-pointer.
The second half would begin with Corban pushing its lead to 14 points (43-29) on a Vanweerdhuizen lay-in with 17:25 left in the game. Northwest Christian would then use a 10-0 run over a span of four minutes to pull within four points (43-39) on a lay-in by Fredrick with 13:14 on the clock. After NCU's Makenzie Endresen pulled the Beacons within four points once again at 47-43 on a jumper with 11:05 left, Corban increased its lead to 14 points (57-43) with a 10-0 run that concluded on back-to-back free throws by Katherine Salness with 7:45 left. Northwest Christian would pull within seven points (59-52) after a pair of free throws by Fredrick before Corban increased its lead to a game-high 16 points (68-52) with a 9-0 run that ended on a jumper by Young with 1:48 remaining. Despite Northwest Christian scoring the game's final four points, the Warriors settled for an 11-point win (70-59) with Corban picking up its first win over NCU since January 27, 2012.
Despite the visiting Warriors not scoring over the game's final minute, Vanweerdhuizen's 21-rebound performance that included her final board coming with 59 seconds left moved her into second on the program's all-time single-game list trailing only former Warrior Melissa Flick, who grabbed 24 rebounds against Columbia Christian on December 5, 1992.
As a team, Corban combined to shoot 25-for-57 (43.9%) from the field that included an 8-for-19 (42.1%) performance from beyond the three-point line and a 12-for-20 (60.0%) showing at the free throw line. On the other hand, Northwest Christian was a combined 22-for-72 (30.6%) from the field, 4-for-20 (20.0%) from long distance, and 11-for-14 (78.6%) at the charity stripe.
Corban will return to action on Tuesday, December 10th, against Lewis & Clark inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in Salem, while Northwest Christian is off until Saturday, December 14th, when the Beacons host Linfield inside the Morse Event Center in Eugene.