Sophomore Tara Vanweerdhuizen moved with striking distance of becoming only the second player in program history to register 200-or-more blocked shots in a career thanks to a game-high four Friday against Northwest.
Vanweerdhuizen's Double-Double Helps Corban to Win Over Northwest
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – Sophomore Tara Vanweerdhuizen registered her fifth double-double of the season with game-high totals of 19 points and 16 rebounds, as Corban's women's basketball team moved with striking distance of the final playoff spot with a wire-to-wire 73-65 win over Northwest Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
With tonight's win, Corban improves to 5-15 overall and 2-8 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action. Meanwhile, Northwest falls to 2-15 overall and 1-9 in league games.
Along with Vanweerdhuizen, senior Tess Bennett also scored a game-high 19 points as the duo combined to shoot 16-of-28 from the field. Freshman Jade Lowery was also in double figures with 11 points, while fellow freshman Kendra Staymates came off the Warriors' bench to chip in nine points. Senior Emily Tsugawa came off the bench for the first time all season providing seven rebounds and a game-high six assists, while Vanweerdhuizen registered a game-high four blocked shots.
Corban would begin the game by jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the opening two minutes before Northwest stormed back with an 8-2 run to tie the game at 8-8 on a three-pointer by Corinne Burke with 14:33 on the clock. Over the next nine minutes, Corban would use a 17-4 run to go ahead by 13 points (25-12) on a lay-in by Vanweerdhuizen with 5:54 left. The visiting Eagles would close the half on a 13-3 run to pull within three points (28-25) on a three-pointer by Sanda Milovic to close out the opening twenty minutes of play.
The second half would begin with Corban using a 21-8 run to pull ahead by a game-high 16 points (49-33) on a lay-in by Staymates with 12:51 on the clock. Northwest would pull within six points (55-49) on back-to-back free throws by Burke with 7:44, but that would as close as the visiting Eagles would get thanks to a 12-3 run by the host Warriors to go ahead by 15 points (67-52) on a lay-in by Vanweerdhuizen with 2:23 left. Timely free throw shooting down the stretch by Corban would help lead the Warriors to victory, as the home team connected on 6-of-8 in the final minute en route to earning the eight-point win (73-65).
Northwest was led in scoring by Burke with 17 points, while three other Eagles – Domi Mendezona, Milovic, and Ashley Coira – also scored in double figures with 16, 14, and 10 points, respectively. On the boards, Milovic grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go along with a four-assist effort by Burke.
As a team, Corban combined to shoot 25-for-60 (41.7%) from the field that included a 2-for-13 (15.4%) performance from three-point range and a 21-for-24 (87.5%) showing at the free throw line. On the other hand, Northwest was a combined 22-for-67 (32.8%) from the field, 9-of-27 (33.3%) from long range, and 12-of-16 (75.0% at the charity stripe.
Both teams will return to the hardwood tomorrow – Saturday, January 19th – with Corban hosting The Evergreen State College in Salem and Northwest continuing its weekend road trip against Northwest Christian in Eugene. Tip-off for each game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.