The Warrior women's basketball team celebrates after the upset victory on Saturday night. (Photo credit: Doug Pfeiler)
PORTLAND, Ore. – Each of the past four seasons, Portland State University has fared quite easily against the Corban University women’s basketball team. But that all on changed on Saturday night, as the Warriors used a potent inside-out attack to stun the Vikings, 74-64, in Portland, Ore. at the W. Stott Center.
The opening 12 minutes of the contest saw a back-and-forth affair that featured six ties and four lead changes. With the game tied at 17 apiece, senior center Danielle Vanderstoel (Salem, Ore.) scored back-to-back buckets to give the Warriors (3-4) a four-point lead with 5:39 remaining in the first stanza.
After a Portland State (0-3) basket, the Navy and Gold responded with an 8-2 run capped by a three-pointer by junior guard Julia Young (Snohomish, Wash.) to take a 29-21 advantage with 2:47 left in the half. With nine seconds remaining in the first frame, junior guard Jade Lowery (Oregon City, Ore.) drained a three-pointer, and although the Vikings scored at the buzzer, Corban went into the locker room with a 35-31 lead.
The Warriors shot 40.0% (14-for-35) in the opening 20 minutes compared to a stifling 50.0% (14-for-28) clip by the Vikings. Corban knocked down four jumpers from beyond the arc, while the Warrior defense held Portland State to just a 1-for-9 effort from downtown.
Lowery had 13 points and three assists at intermission, while junior forward Megan Benedict (Lebanon, Ore.) came off the bench to knock down both of her three-point attempts. As for Portland State, senior guard Lauriel Powell did most of the damage with 13 points and five assists.
Needing to establish momentum to start the second half, Corban got to work early, as Young drained her second three-pointer of the contest on the Warriors’ first possession. Moments later, Vanderstoel scored four unanswered points, and then senior center Tara Van Weerdhuizen (Spokane, Wash.) collected her own miss and scored to give Corban a 13-point lead (44-31) with 17:14 left in the game.
For the next eight minutes, Portland State never managed to reduce Corban’s lead to single digits. With a 54-41 advantage at the 8:50 mark, Young converted a three-point play the old fashioned way to give the Warriors their largest lead of the contest (17). After the Vikings threatened to rally and cut the Navy and Gold’s lead to 10 (62-52) with just over five minutes remaining, Van Weerdhuizen scored on a put-back jumper, and Lowery knocked down a triple to keep Portland State out of reach. In the final four minutes, Corban shot 7-for-8 from the line to seal the victory.
“The ladies adjusted really well to a change in our defensive scheme midway through the first half which controlled Portland State’s penetration,” said head coach Dave Bale. “We shot the ball well from the field once we shook off the NCAA Division I jitters.”
Four players scored in double figures for the Warriors, as Lowery led the way with a team-high 21 points and five assists. Causing the Vikings problems in the paint all evening long, Van Weerdhuizen blocked four shots and notched her first double-double of the 2014-15 campaign with 10 points and 15 rebounds. In addition, Young and Vanderstoel added 15 and 10 points, respectively.
“Danielle had a great game offensively and defensively,” stated Bale. “Jade's ability to penetrate and kick or score kept their help defense off balance. Tara rebounded the ball with an attitude, as she pulled down 15 rebounds. This was a big-time confidence booster for us.”
Powell finished with a team-high 21 points and seven assists for the Vikings, while junior guard Emily Easom recorded 17 points, including a 3-for-9 effort from three-point range.
As a team, the Warriors shot 40.3% from the floor and had 17 assists on 27 made baskets. Corban edged Portland State on the glass, 44-39, and the Navy and Gold tallied 16 second-chance points compared to just six by the Vikings.
Corban returns to the hardwood on Nov. 25 to take on Western Oregon University in Salem, Ore. at 5 p.m.