Stifling Defense Spurs Corban Women’s Basketball to 68-48 Win over Northwest
SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University Women's Basketball team hosted the Northwest University Eagles on Friday night in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center. The Warriors' defensive effort smothered the Eagle offense en route to a 68-48 victory to bolster Corban's Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) record.
"Our team mindset was excellent tonight," said head coach Bill Pilgeram. "The energy from every player really propelled us to the victory. Defensively, our posts defended the paint well, and our guards were dialed in on the perimeter. Shaelie Burgess had a double-double and played one of her best games of the year."
Burgess showed up in full force, as she contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds to the Warrior effort. Her four offensive boards were instrumental in helping the Navy and Gold rack up 15 second-chance points in the tilt. She also made an impact in the defensive game, blocking three Eagle shots in the contest.
Jordan Woodvine was good for 19 points in the matchup to aid in the push of the Warriors' scoring total to 68. She was 8-of-13 from the field, and added nine rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double.
Kendra Murphy helped nail down the defense in the paint, as she led the Warriors with four shot rejections along with seven boards.
Northwest found no answer to the Warrior defense in this one, as the Eagles were held to a mere 20.8% clip from the field, in what was a stellar show of effort from the Navy and Gold. Prior to the start of the fourth quarter, NU was just 9-of-60 from the field (15.0%), and showed some improvement in the fourth, having shot 7-of-17 in the final stanza.
For all of the difficulty that the Eagles had in solving Corban's steel curtain, Ellesse Fitzgerald turned in a solid effort off of the bench with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. She was the sole Eagle who shot at a clip above fifty percent. She also helped get her teammates involved, assisting on four buckets for the Northwest offense.
Looking to continue showing their fortitude while pitted against CCC opponents, Corban (7-4, 3-1 CCC) will look to extend the three-game winning streak that they are currently enjoying when they host The Evergreen State College Geoducks on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.