Record-breaking season ends with loss to Sterling

March 8, 2007

BOX SCORE - STERLING (KAN.) 80, CORBAN 70

Senior Brianne Carras recorded her third straight double-double with a team-high 22 points and 12 rebouds tonight against Sterling (Kan.) in the opening round of the 2007 NAIA D-II national tournament. (Photo courtesy of Curt Sell)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Despite a team-high 22 points and 12 rebounds by senior Brianne Carras (Olympia, Wash.), Corban's women's basketball team had its record-breaking season ended by Sterling (Kan.), 80-70, in the opening round of the 2007 NAIA Division II national tournament on Thursday.

Corban was the 6th seed in its bracket and ranked 30th in the nation, while Sterling was the 3rd seed in the bracket and ranked ninth in the nation.

The Warriors from Oregon, were riding an 11-game winning streak heading into tonight's game, but could not overcome an 8-0 run by Sterling to open the second half. The Lady Warriors from Kansas, were ahead by as much as 12 points in the second half and held Corban at bay over the final two minutes despite the Warriors having ample opportunities at the free throw line.

Trailing by a mere point (37-36) at the half, following a buzzer-beating lay-up by Sterling, Corban knew that they had a chance to upset the nation's 9th-ranked team only to have the Lady Warriors come out and open the final stanza with a shooting flurry. Sterling connected on a trifecta of 3-point baskets in the opening minutes of the second half and pushed its one-point advantage to nine (45-36) before Corban knew what hit them.

Both Carras and fellow senior Jessi Norton (Redmond, Ore.), along with junior Jessica Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.) and senior Tosha Wilson (Madras, Ore.), attempted to keep Corban in the ball game, but could not overcome the early second half deficit.

Carras ended the night with her third straight double-double (22 points & 12 rebounds), as the 5-foot-11 forward shot 7-for-12 from the field and turned in an 8-for-11 performance at the free throw line. Meanwhile, Norton, Steigleman, and Wilson added 14, 13, and 10 points respectively, while Norton, Steigleman, and senior Kendall Dionne (Brownsville, Ore.) each grabbed 5 rebounds.

Sterling was led by conference Player of the Year, K.C. Bassett, who tallied a game-high 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-7 performance from behind the 3-point line.  Bassett was aided by Hillary Stucky's 15 points and team-high 11 rebounds, while Ashley Kraft and Terell Coon poured in 11 and 10 points respectively.

Corban shot 25-of-59 (42.4%) from the field, including 19-for-25 (76.0%) from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Sterling, as a team, recorded 32-for-69 (46.4%) from the field, 6-for-11 (54.5%) from beyond the three-point arc, and 10-for-16 (62.5%) from the charity stripe. The difference in the game came from behind the arc, as the Warriors made a mere one shot on nine attempts compared to Sterling's six made 3-point field goals.

Despite the loss, Corban ends its record-breaking season with a school-record 27 wins in 34 games. Along with the school-record for wins in a single season, the Warriors broke the old marks for winning percentage (.794), most conference wins in a single season (15), and tied the program's longest winning streak at 11 games.

Norton, Wilson, Steigleman, and Carras each surpassed the 1,000-point mark in their respective careers this season, while Wilson became the 10th player in NAIA history to finish her career with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists, and 300 steals. Norton ended 2nd on the all-time career points list in women's basketball history, while the other trio of Warriors moved into the top 10 all-time in scoring.

Fifth-year head coach Dave Bale, who will be stepping down from his position to focus on family and other duties at the college, concludes his final season at the helm of the Warriors with an outstanding career coaching win-loss record of 107-53, including 62-28 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Bale won nearly 67% of the games that he coached at Corban, while earning conference Coach of the Year honors this season after leading the Warriors to their first-ever regular season and conference tournament championships. In five seasons, Bale guided the Warriors to one regular season conference title, two post-season tournament championships, and three appearances at the NAIA Division II national tournament.