Battle of the "Century" Goes to Corban in Double Overtime

2/8/2013 11:27:27 PM

BOX SCORE

SALEM, Ore. – In what turned out to be a back-and-forth battle all night, Corban's Emily Tsugawa came within one rebound of her first career triple-double with 30 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the Warriors' 105-102 double overtime victory over Concordia Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

Corban (8-18, 4-11 CCC) put up 83 shots connecting on 40 field goals that included a season-high 14-of-30 (46.7%) performance from beyond the three-point line. The Warriors struggled at the free throw line hitting just 11-of-25 (44.0%), but made up the difference on the defensive end with five blocked shots and eight steals. On the other hand, Concordia (10-15, 4-11 CCC) was a combined 33-of-79 (41.8%) from the field, 4-of-12 (33.3%) from long distance, and 32-of-45 (71.1%) at the charity stripe.

Tsugawa's offensive performance came thanks to 10-for-21 shooting from the field that included an 8-of-16 performance from three-point range, while fellow Tess Bennett tallied 25 points before fouling out late in the second half. Three other Corban players – Julia Young, Tara Vanweerdhuizen, and Haley Holboke – also scored in double figures with 11, 10, and 10 points, respectively. On the boards, Vanweerdhuizen missed a double-double by one rebound despite pulling down a team-high nine to go along with Tsugawa's nine.

After Corban jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the opening minute, Concordia battled back to take the lead at 14-13 via a 14-9 run that ended on a jumper by Lexi Amundsen with 14:13 on the clock. The host Warriors would score six unanswered points over the next minute en route taking a 19-14 lead on a three-pointer by Megan Benedict with 13:17 remaining. Both teams would battle back and forth over the final 13-plus minute, as neither team held more than a four-point advantage and Concordia clung to a one-point lead (43-42) at halftime.

The second half would see Corban jump out to a four-point lead (48-44) thanks to an opening 6-1 run that concluded on a three-pointer by Tsugawa with 18:28 left. Despite Concordia battling back to tie the game at 49-49 left than two minutes later, Corban used a 5-0 run to pull ahead 54-49 on a jumper by Bennett with just over 15 minutes left in regulation. Over the next four-plus minutes Concordia would use a 12-7 run to tie the score for the fourth time at 61-all before the two teams once again gauged a battle that resulted in three more ties with the final one coming at 71-71 with 3:11 on the clock. After Concordia went ahead by four points (81-77) on a free throw by McKenna Daly with 26 seconds left. Over the next 16 seconds, Corban battled back to tie the game for the eighth time at 83-83 on a three-pointer from the corner by Tsugawa with 10 seconds on the clock. A blocked shot by sophomore Danielle Vanderstoel on an attempted game-winning jumper by CU's Kelly Huey would send the game into the first overtime knotted at 83-all.

Corban would begin the first overtime with an old-fashion three-point play by Bennett that put the host Warriors up 86-83, but Concordia would not go quietly into the night scoring four straight points to go ahead by one point (87-86) on a fast-break lay-in by Daly with 3:29 left. Over the next two minutes, Corban would use a 7-3 run to pull ahead by three points (93-90) on a steal and fast-break lay-in by Holboke with 1:33 left. Huey would bring Concordia back to within a single point (93-92) before Young hit a jumper in the paint to put Corban ahead by three points (95-92). In the final seconds of the first overtime, Concordia's Gabi Beyer would hit a three-pointer from the wing that knotted the game for the ninth time (95-95) and Tsugawa's last-second half-court shot hit the back of the rim before falling to the floor to force a second overtime period.

The second overtime session would see Corban once again jump out to the early lead thanks to a lay-in by Holboke a mere four seconds into the period. Concordia's Malori Dixon would tie the game for the 10th time at 97-97 thanks to a pair of free throws with 4:412 left before Huey hit two more free throws left than 15 seconds later to put the visiting Cavaliers ahead by two points (99-97). Bennett would tie the score for the 11th time at 99-all thanks to two free throws, while Dixon helped Concordia reach the century mark with a free throw at the 3:46 mark. Over a minute later, Huey would put the visiting Cavaliers back in the lead by three points (102-99) thanks to a lay-in before Corban answered with a three-pointer by Young that tied the game for the 12th and final time at 102-102 with 2:18 on the clock. Sixty-three seconds later, Tsugawa would hit one-of-two free throws to put Corban ahead by a single point (103-102) with 1:15 left. A jump ball four seconds later would give the ball back to Corban, but a missed lay-in would give Concordia new life. Fortunately for the host Warriors, CU's Beyer could not connect on a jumper that fell into the arms of Tsugawa as she was fouled and forced more free throws. This time, Tsugawa would hit just one but good defense and timely rebounding by the Warriors would put Kendra Staymates at the line with a chance to ice the victory with one second left. Unfortunately, Staymates could only hit one free throw to put Corban ahead 105-102 and Concordia called three straight timeouts hoping for one last chance to send the game into a third overtime. After the three breaks in action, Concordia attempted a full-court pass that was stolen by Young as the buzzer sounded giving Corban to hard-fought three-point win (105-102) in double overtime.

Concordia was led offensively by Huey with 23 points, while four other Cavaliers – Dixon, Beyer, Daly, and Amundsen – also scored in double figures with 18, 18, 15, and 11 points, respectively. Dixon registered a double-double thanks to a game-high 13 rebounds, while Caitlyn McCutcheon added 11 rebounds off the bench for Concordia. Huey would also hand out a team-high nine assists, while also registered a team-best three steals.

Both teams will return to action tomorrow – Saturday, February 9th – with Corban hosting Warner Pacific in Salem and Concordia traveling to Eugene to take on Northwest Christian. The games are set to tip-off at 5:30 p.m.