MONMOUTH, Ore. – Absolute madness unfolded inside the confines of the New PE Gymnasium today between the RV Corban University Women's Basketball team and NCAA DII Western Oregon University Wolves, as the Warriors overcame an 18-point fourth quarter deficit to flip their first loss of the 2025-26 regular season into a huge road upset against the Wolves, their first counting contest victory over WOU in over a decade.
"I am just so proud of the team and the resiliency they showed today," explained Corban head coach Kylie Frizell shortly after her squad's massive come-from-behind effort. "We talked at halftime about how defense was going to win us this game, as we just were not clicking during the first half. We were getting good shots, missing others, and then defensively we just weren't contesting shots. We started to get good looks at the rim, slowly but surely got to chipping away, and stepped up on the defensive end when we needed it most. Huge performance and moment from Jimmy, I'm so proud of her and the entire team for how they handled adversity."
A much-improved Wolves squad (0-1) jumped out from the opening tip and quickly established a double-digit lead in the first quarter against the Warriors (5-0), as Corban began the contest on a 7-6 run yet were outscored 16-9 the remainder of the period and eventually entered the halftime break down by eight at 42-34. By the end of the third quarter, the Navy and Gold trailed 70-52 with no winning line in sight, yet persisted, nonetheless.
However, a 13-0 scoring run to start the fourth quarter completely flipped the momentum in the Warriors' favor, who chipped away at their massive deficit over the final ten minutes of regulation to find themselves down four points following a pair of free throws by redshirt senior guard Tori Younker. Back-to-back layups from redshirt sophomore guard Jersey Huerta and redshirt junior guard Jenna Albrecht allowed Corban to knot the game at 79-all, before the Warriors picked up another pair of defensive stops to claim possession with 22 seconds remaining.
Not quite the way Frizell drew the play up in their timeout, but a cut to the basket by Huerta allowed her to dish to junior guard Tayla Yost on the wing, who drove to the hoop and managed to dish a swing pass to the opposite corner where Albrecht was waiting unguard. Unfazed by the crashing defender, Albrecht drained her three-pointer with four seconds remaining to cash in on the game-winner that was uncontested following an errant answer by Western Oregon on their own offensive end. The Navy and Gold held the Wolves scoreless over the final 2:28 of the contest.
Albrecht and graduate student center Emilia Bishop each scored 18 points for Corban women's basketball, combining for 19 rebounds with Bishop picking up the double-double effort, her second-straight overall and second of the week. Huerta, Younker, and Yost added 16, 12, and 10 points, respectively, with both Huerta and Yost hauling in six boards apiece.
Despite outshooting Corban by nearly ten percent from the field, Western Oregon fell in what was both their season and home opener, led by a 24-point effort from guard Enid Vaifanua. Four more Wolves were in double-figure scoring, including guard Triniti Youngblood and her 13 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
The five-game road trip will carry into next Friday for the Navy and Gold, as they're scheduled to battle NCAA DIII Pacific Lutheran University (0-3) at 5pm on the 21st of November.
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