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Wilson drops 15 in second half to lead Warriors to win
November 21, 2006
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Senior Tosha Wilson led the Warriors with a game-high 17 points (15 in the 2nd half) tonight, as Corban defeated cross-town rival Willamette for the fifth straight game. (Photo courtesy of Josh Randolph) |
SALEM, Ore. -
Senior Tosha Wilson (Madras, Ore.) scored 15 of her game-high 17 points in the second half, as Corban's women's basketball team defeated cross-town rival Willamette, 72-61, inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center on Tuesday.
Wilson began the night scoring the game's first two points on a fast-break lay-in following her first of four steals on the night. The 5-foot-6 senior's lay-up came just over a minute into the game and she did not score again until 16:07 remaining the game via back-to-back free throws.
Aiding in the effort were sophomore Jessica Steigleman (Eugene, Ore.), who had 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting, and senior Brianne Carras (Olympia, Wash.), who recorded a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The host Warriors grabbed an 8-point lead (11-3) five minutes into the game when senior Kendall Dionne (Brownsville, Ore.) connected on her lone three-pointer of the night. Willamette then used a 12-4 run over a span of four-and-a-half minute to knot the game at 15-all. The visiting Bearcats then proceeded to take their first lead of the night when Keilyn Fujioka connected on back-to-back free throws with 10:24 remaining in the opening half. After Fujioka extended Willamette's lead to four (19-15), Corban knotted the game at 19-all following a lay-up and two free throws by Carras. Willamette's Rebekah Wells tied the game for the fifth and final time via a 3-pointer with 4:39 left and then extended the Bearcats' lead to 5 (33-28) with another bomb from long distance, but Corban closed the half on an 8-0 run that was highlighted by a put-back from junior Mandy Peterson (Portland, Ore.) as the buzzer sounded to escape with a 3-point advantage (36-33) at the half.
Coming out of the locker room, the host Warriors quickly pushed their lead to 7 (42-35) thanks to a 6-2 run over the first three-and-a-half minutes. Corban continued to apply the pressure and grabbed its first double-digit lead of the half with 3:36 remaining in the game (68-57) following a pair of free throws by Steigleman. Willamette attempted to cut into the Warriors' lead, but Corban held its own down the stretch thanks to a 5-for-7 performance at the charity stripe.
With the win, Corban snaps its mini-two-game losing streak and pushes its winning streak over Willamette to five games.
As a team, the Warriors shot 24-for-49 (49.0%) from the field, including 21-for-30 (70.0%) from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Willamette shot 22-for-55 (40.0%) from the field and 14-for-20 (70.0%) from the charity stripe.
Willamette was led by Wells' team-high 15 points on 6-for-17 shooting from the field, while Maggie Wilkens and Brittany Farrer added 11 points each.
Despite holding a slim 1-rebound advantage (34-33), Corban had four players -- Carras (11), Peterson (7), Steigleman (5), and Dionne (5) -- with 5-or-more boards, while Willamette was led by Farrer's team-high 8 rebounds.
Corban improves to 3-3 overall, while Willamette falls to 0-3. The Warriors are next in action on Wednesday, November 22nd, when they travel north to Portland for a match-up with NCAA Division III member Lewis & Clark College beginning at 7:00 p.m. inside the Pamplin Sports Center.
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