SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University Women’s Basketball Team (1-2, 0-0) fell tonight in their 2022-23 home opener 69-60, dropping the contest to the No. 23 University of Montana Western Bulldogs (2-1, 0-0) Thursday evening.
“It felt great to be on our home court tonight!” Warriors’ Head Coach Bill Pilgeram said following his team’s first game on Tim Hills Court.
There were a lot of good things in the first half, but we just weren’t able to keep momentum in the second half. Western did a good job of turning up the pressure and being more aggressive, which is something we will work on reacting to better!”, Pilgeram continued.
Pilgeram concluded with, “The preseason is all about learning from each game and getting better each timeout. We will turn around now and get ready for another pair of contests in Arizona early next week.”
The Warriors were able to keep up with the No. 23 Bulldogs for a majority of the contest tonight, leading at the half by five after a first half of turnovers and missed field goals. Just 27-22 at the break, Corban had held Montana Western to hitting just a third of their shots, including a 25% free throw percentage and 23% from behind the three-point line.
The Bulldogs were able to increase the intensity in the second half, officially taking the lead back with under five minutes in the third quarter on a three-ball from forward Keke Davis, making the score 37-35. Corban kept within striking distance the end the quarter, trailing by four points to start the final quarter.
Warriors’ junior guard Kirsten Koehnke opened the half with an and-1 layup to begin the fourth quarter, pulling within a single point before Montana Western went on a 15-1 run to force Corban into a difficult situation.
The Warriors were able to scrap their way back into single-digit deficit, but enough time had bled off the clock to ensure the Bulldogs their road win. A 12-4 lead in second chance points provided Corban with a shot down the end to keep in the running for a home win, but 22 turnovers ultimately wrote the Navy and Gold’s downfall.
Corban was led offensively by Koehnke and senior forward Holly Golenor, who each scored 11 points to keep the Warriors in this contest. Koehnke earned a game-high eight rebounds by cleaning up the weakside on field goal attempts, while sophomore guard Gemma LaVergne came off the bench to provide 10 points and six rebounds.
Bulldogs’ forward Brynley Fitzgerald scored a game-high 22 points to lead all players, adding eight rebounds to fall two shy of a double-double. Fitzgerald hit multiple three-pointers down the stretch to give UMW their fourth-quarter double-digit lead, while guard Jordan Sweeney managed to keep away from fouling out to add 14 points and three assists.
Corban Women’s Basketball hits the road once again for a pair of road non-conference contest with NAIA schools before returning to Oregon for the beginning of conference play. The Warriors will face Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (4-1, 0-0) in Prescott, Ariz. next Sunday, November 13th at 2pm MST, followed by Arizona Christian University (0-2, 0-0) the next evening at 6:30pm MST.
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