Jade Lowery scored 15 points in Tuesday's defeat against NCU. (Photo Credit: Doug Pfeiler)
Salem, Ore. – It was heartbreaker for Warrior fans and elation for Beacon fans on Tuesday night as the Corban University women’s basketball team was upset for the second-consecutive time by the Northwest Christian University Beacons. Though it was a thrilling contest from start to finish, the Warriors saw their season come to an end on Tuesday inside the C.E Jeffers Sports Center, as the Beacons made a layup with six seconds left to send themselves on to the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament semifinals via a 60-59 triumph.
Corban wasted no time from the get-go, with junior guard Jade Lowery (Oregon City, Ore.) making a basket within the first minute of play to give Corban the early lead. Sophomore forward Sadie Pilgeram (Helena, Mont.) then drained the Warriors’ first three-point shot of the game, keeping the Navy and Gold in front.
At the 15-minute mark, senior center Tara Van Weerdhuizen (Spokane, Wash.) put the Warriors ahead by five points after a layup inside.
Corban then forced the Beacons into a couple of turnovers, resulting in quick opportunities the other way, and the Warriors capitalized on those chances, extending the advantage. One such play saw Van Weerdhuizen steal the ball before finding Pilgeram inside. Senior center Danielle Vanderstoel (Salem, Ore.) was the next link in the chain, and after drawing the foul, she converted on two shots from the charity stripe.
The Beacons responded with a couple three-point shots through junior guard Sami Pitts, however, keeping the contest close.
At the six-minute mark, Pilgeram put the Warriors up 24-14 following a put-back opportunity.
Northwest Christian finished the half strong, however, nailing a pair of three-pointers late to cut the deficit to just seven points at the halftime break.
At the half, Corban held the slight lead over Northwest Christian, 34-27. The Warriors were led by Lowery who had 10 points. For the Beacons, Caples led the way with nine points. Furthermore, the Warriors shot 11-of-28 from the field (39.3%) to the Beacon’s 9-for-40 (22.5%) mark.
Northwest Christian came out determined in the second stanza, cutting the Warriors lead to a mere two points almost immediately.
Van Weerdhuizen made a layup to score the Warriors first two points of the second half, giving the Navy and Gold a four-point lead. However, this lead was short lived as NCU’s Hannah Frederick responded with a basket from downtown, further cutting into the Navy and Gold advantage.
Caples continued her raid on the Corban defense as well, making a couple of crucial baskets, putting her team up by three points midway through the second half.
Warrior senior guard Haley Holboke (Vancouver, Wash.) converted her first three-pointer of the evening with 7:08 left in regulation, tying the contest at 46-46.
In a game that looked likely to come down to the wire, Pilgeram tied the score at 52-52 with a clutch three-pointer with 3:58 remaining.
With 51 seconds left in regulation, Lowery provided the clutch play for the Navy and Gold, making an acrobatic shot and then sinking the free throw to put Corban up, 57-55.
Hannah Frederick responded for the Beacons with 24 seconds left, sinking a three-pointer to put NCU up by one, but then Vanderstoel converted on two free-throw opportunities to put the Warriors in front by one point with 12 seconds left.
The Beacons drew up the perfect inbound play, however, as Weber got to the hoop and made the layup with six seconds remaining to retake the lead for NCU. Corban got up a great look at the buzzer, but the shot rimmed out, resulting in the dramatic win for the road squad.
On the night, Corban shot 19-for-56 (33.9%) and 3-for-16 (18.8%) from beyond the arc. The Warriors were led offensively by Lowery who scored 15 points and recorded six boards, while the Beacons were paced by Caples with 19 points and a 27.1% shooting effort overall as a team.
One of the areas that the Beacons may have won the game was on second-chance points, as NCU tallied 16 on the night, while Corban scored just seven.
Tonight’s loss ends Corban’s (17-14) season, while the Beacons (13-14) travel to top-seeded Eastern Oregon University for a semifinal game against the Mountaineers on Friday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.