PRESCOTT, Ariz. – A quick offensive burst over the course of the first half led the Corban University Women’s Basketball team (2-2, 0-0) to a 62-50 road victory over the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Arizona Eagles (4-2, 0-0) in the ICI Center.
“That was a big road win for us, to travel that far and get a win against a team that has had good success so far this season and beat us in our own gym last year,” Corban Head Coach Bill Pilgeram said following his team’s dominant result.
“I liked our balanced scoring on offense, as well as having 19 assists compared to just 13 turnovers, all while being able to force 21 ERAZ turnovers,” Pilgeram elaborated.
He concluded his thoughts with, “Now we get to focus on a quick turnaround to our second game tomorrow for this road trip.”
The Warriors came out cold initially in the first quarter, allowing the Eagles to build a 7-0 lead on their home court, before coming alive with the first set of substitutions off Pilgeram’s bench. Freshman Jenna Albrecht and sophomore Gemma LaVergne each hit three-pointers, with LaVergne scoring almost half of Corban’s first quarter points in their 20-5 run to end the quarter, leading by eight at the first break.
LaVergne hit yet another three-pointer to open the second quarter in Prescott, finding the double-digit mark in the first 11 minutes of gameplay. The Warriors continued their hot streak by scoring the first 10 points of the second quarter, extending their lead to 30-12 before Embry-Riddle was finally able to score a bucket.
Senior forward Holly Golenor started to find her touch in the paint, striking on her first three shots to force the Eagles’ zone defense into adjusting to the hot hands both in the paint and on the perimeter. Most of the credit for Corban’s massive second quarter lead is given to the Warriors’ defense, as they held Embry-Riddle to connecting on a lowly 25% of their field goals through the first 15 minutes of action.
The Eagles were finally able to find some consistent offense throughout the second quarter, scratching and clawing their way into a 12-point deficit at halftime, despite being outscored on their home floor for the second-straight quarter. ERAZ guard Mehgan Strickler was the leading scorer for the Eagles, converting on 3-of-7 field goals for seven points and adding three rebounds.
A layup followed by a three-pointer put Embry-Riddle in a single-digit deficit situation for the first time since early in the second quarter. However, a three-point shot from senior forward Kaci Paffhausen put the Warriors back up by 10, pushing both squads in a back-and-forth flirting scenario with the 10-point lead line. ERAZ was able to flip their second quarter point totals with Corban to end the third quarter, as the hometown Eagles trailed by just eight with 10 minutes to play.
Corban began to fall cold from their field once again, as Embry-Riddle was able to cut their deficit to just five points before the Warriors dug some offense back out of the first and second quarters. Their lead reached double-digits once again near the midway mark of quarter number four, but the Eagles continued to hang around to cause concern for the Navy and Gold.
Try as Embry-Riddle may, the first half deficit they allowed proved to be too difficult to overcome, as Corban was able to hit their free throws down the stretch to earn their second road win of the season.
LaVergne finished with a team-high 13 points after her hot start to the contest, converting on a trio of three-pointers to lead the Warriors from deep. Redshirt freshman Izzy Boring took to the free throw line on multiple occasions, scoring on five of her attempts and adding three more field goals to finish with 11 points, hauled in five rebounds and nabbed four steals. Golenor supplemented the team in the post with a team-high seven rebounds, scoring eight points as well.
Strickler played a game-high 36 minutes to score 15 points and grab 10 boards for the Eagles, battling out the game-highs against all players this afternoon for the only double-double of the day. Forward Liz Behan came off the bench for ERAZ to add seven points and eight rebounds.
The Warriors will compete in their fifth game in eight days tomorrow, November 14th at 6:30pm MST (5:30pm PST), as Corban will battle Arizona Christian University (0-2, 0-0) in Glendale, Ariz. before a lengthy week-long break in their busy non-conference schedule.
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