Freshman Tara Vanweerdhuizen posted a double-double Saturday against The College of Idaho, as the first-year Warriors tallied game high totals of 24 points and 10 rebounds in Corban's eighth straight win.
Vanweerdhuizen Leads Corban to Win Over C of I
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – Freshman Tara Vanweerdhuizen hit eight field goals and eight free throws en route to scoring a game-high 24 points to go along with 10 rebounds, as Corban's women's basketball team extended its season-high winning streak to eight games thanks to a wire-to-wire 76-62 win over The College of Idaho Saturday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
With tonight's win, Corban improves to 18-5 overall and 12-2 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Thanks to this evening's victory, the Warriors hold a one-game lead over Warner Pacific and 1½ game lead over Eastern Oregon and C of I with four games remaining in the regular season. Meanwhile, The College of Idaho had its current five-game winning streak snapped falling to 16-8 overall and 11-4 in league games.
Along with Vanweerdhuizen, three other Warriors – junior Tess Bennett, senior Katie Steigleman, and junior Emily Tsugawa – scored in double figures with 12, 11, and 10 points, respectively. On the boards, Vanweerdhuizen was aided by senior Shayla Fetters with nine rebounds and Tsugawa with five boards and a game-high nine assists.
The game would begin with both teams using 5-0 runs to knot the game for the only time at 5-5 with 17:23 on the clock. Over the next five minutes, Corban would use a 14-5 run en route to earning a nine-point lead (19-10) on a free throw by Vanweerdhuizen with 12:41 remaining. The College of Idaho would pull within a single bucket (25-23) thanks to a 13-6 run over a span of five minutes before the host Warriors used a 10-4 run to earn an eight-point lead (35-27) on a fast-break lay-in by Fetters with 4:35 on the clock. Corban would settle for a seven-point lead (39-32) at halftime following a buzzer-beating lay-in by junior Christy Mosier.
Out of the gate, Corban would control the second half of play extending its lead to as much as 15 points (54-39) in the opening seven minutes capped off with a lay-in by Steigleman at the 13:05 mark. At the 11:47 mark, Bennett became the 14th player in program history to score 1,000-or-more points in a career as she knocked down a jumper in the paint that gave the host Warriors a 17-point lead (58-41). Corban would grab their first 20-point lead (67-47) at the 7:53 mark on another Vanweerdhuizen free throw, as C of I used a 13-3 run over a span of five-plus minutes to pull within 10 points (70-60) on a three-pointer by Dayna Drager with 2:16 left. Fortunately for the nationally-ranked Warriors, The College of Idaho would not get as closer thanks to a timely free throw shooting by Corban over the final two minutes that included a perfect 6-for-6 showing at the charity stripe en route to securing the 14-point win (76-62).
The College of Idaho was led offensively by Felicity Jones, who scored 14 points before fouling out. The only other C of I player in double figures was Tina Fakahafua with 13 points, while Laura Geis pulled down a team-high six rebounds for the Lady Coyotes.
As a team, Corban combined to shoot 29-for-58 (50.0%) from the field to go along with a 3-for-15 (20.0%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 15-for-20 (75.0%) performance at the free throw line. On the other hand, The College of Idaho was 21-for-67 (31.3%) from the field, 3-for-9 (33.3%) from long distance, and 17-for-31 (54.8%) at the charity stripe.
Both Corban and College of Idaho will return to action on Friday, February 10th, as the Warriors hits the road against Concordia University in Portland and the Coyotes host Eastern Oregon in Caldwell. C of I-EOU will tip at 4:30 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time), while Corban-Concordia will begin at 5:30 p.m. (PST).