SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University Women’s Basketball team (0-1, 0-0) dropped their season opener to the 2022-23 year on the road, falling to NCAA DIII Willamette University (0-0, 0-0) in an exhibition match for the home team Bearcats, 57-66.
“It was great to get into game action and I loved how hard every player on the team played,” Warriors’ Head Coach Bill Pilgeram said following his team’s opening contest. “We struggled to get the ball in the basket today, but great things are ahead if we continue to play like this.”
The Warriors and Bearcats each chipped away defensively to open the contest, with the Corban quickly falling into foul trouble by earning their fifth team foul of the first quarter just five minutes into the game. The only difference maker for Willamette thus far proved to be putting the basket in the hoop off Warrior miscues, as Corban trailed by just a single point after the first 10 minutes despite allowing six turnovers.
Fouls continued to riddle the Warriors throughout the first half, as the Bearcats were quickly in the bonus before the second media timeout. Willamette secured seven points off bonus free throws alone, but strength in the key from senior forward Holly Golenor kept Corban within striking distance, trailing by just seven digits at the halftime break.
Despite foul trouble continuing to rack up for the Warriors and facing a double-digit deficit early in the third quarter, they were able to scratch and claw back into a single possession contest with under a minute to play in the penultimate quarter. A huge jump ball on a Bearcats possession, forced by redshirt freshman Tori Younker, gave Corban the ball and she quickly turned it into a pair of free throws by drawing the foul and sinking her shots from the stripe.
With three quarters of play under their belts, the Warriors held a two-point lead to open the final quarter, as a jolt of energy on a three-ball from junior guard Kirsten Koehnke opened the scoring for Corban to extend their lead.
The Bearcats rallied to pull within a point with less than five minutes remaining, and foul trouble once again reared its ugly face. Down two starters due to foul outs, the Warriors found themselves in a tied ball game with under three minutes remaining.
Transition baskets on a midrange jump shot and three-pointer by Willamette gave the Bearcats a five-point lead, and the depleted Warriors’ lineup couldn’t muster enough down the stretch to come out on the winning side of the ballgame, falling to the Bearcats 57-66.
Golenor led the Warriors offensively with 14 points, scooping up a team-high seven rebounds in the process. Junior guard Maddie Godwin followed with 13 points, but unfortunately fouled out before adding to her hot hand in the second half.
Bearcats’ guard Megan River dropped 14 points of her own to tie Golenor in the game-high scoring mark, while guard Kaitlin Imai came off the bench to score 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting. Guard Carolyn Ho was the closest of any player to come within striking distance of a double-double, as she delivered nine points and added eight boards along the way.
Despite leading the rebounding game 50-47 and turnover game by a slim 14-18 margin, too many fouls left the Warriors at an extreme disadvantage, as the Bearcats shot 27 free throws from 28 Corban team fouls. Connecting on opportunities from the free-throw line was also an incredibly important piece to Willamette’s win, as the Bearcats connected on 74.1% of their attempts to the Warriors’ 59.1%.
The Warriors will continue their season opening road trip this upcoming weekend, as they will travel north to Washington to face NCAA DIII Whitworth University on Sunday, November 6th at 2pm PDT, followed by DI Eastern Washington University the following night at 6pm PDT.
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