Mid Valley Reporter

After a double-digit lead dwindled over the final quarter of action this afternoon at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, the Corban University Women's Basketball team (9-8, 6-5) managed to escape with a 57-56 victory over The College of Idaho (10-7, 5-6), thanks to a pair of clutch free throws from Warriors' junior guard Kirsten Koehnke that flipped a one-point deficit into a one-point lead.

"I was really proud of how the team responded after last night, jumping out of the gate with an amazingly aggressive mindset tonight," Warriors' Head Coach Bill Pilgeram shared following his squad's gritty victory.

"We played great defense for a majority of the night, but C of I found a way to make it more interesting than we wanted down the stretch. Kirsten's free throws in the fourth were very big to stop their run and hold on for the win," Pilgeram elaborated.

The Warriors kicked off the contest completing a streak that they failed to find the entirety of their game last night: converting on three-point attempts. Corban redshirt freshman guard Tori Younker and junior guard Maddie Godwin combined for 13 of 15 points to begin the contest, highlighted by a deep three-pointer from Godwin from Koehnke that she made with ease and converted on the free throw to stretch the Corban lead to seven points.

The Yotes hung tight for the remainder of the first quarter, trailing by only five points after the Warriors' hot start petered off towards the end of the opening 10 minutes.

After C of I pulled to within a single bucket, the Navy and Gold ended the first half on a 10-4 run, expanding their advantage back to nine points and holding on to the 30-21 lead going into the halftime break. Younker led all players at the break with nine points, while Yotes' guard Taryn Riley was the only visiting student-athlete with more than five points, as she had six thus far to keep C of I in this contest.

Corban was able to extend their lead to their highest of the contest to open the third quarter, as a second half opening jumper by Koehnke and back-to-back layups from senior forward Holly Golenor and redshirt freshman guard Izzy Boring opened up a 36-21 advantage.

However, the best gameplay from the Yotes was still to come, with the Warriors' double-digit lead evaporated before their very eyes over the final two minutes of the period and C of I ended the quarter on a furious 8-0 run to trail by only five after falling behind by as many as 15 points.

Over the first eight minutes of the final quarter of play, Corban was able to stave off any attempts the Coyotes threw their way to flip the script on the home squad, yet the Warriors couldn't find the offense necessary to put them away in this crucial Cascade Collegiate Conference contest.

Finally, College of Idaho found their lead that had escaped them all contest thus far, as a layup from Riley with 34 seconds remaining put the Warriors in the hole for the first time all afternoon, trailing 56-55 with at least one possession to find a win condition.

Enter Koehnke, who had been playing the role of facilitator a majority of the contest only to drive to the hoop 10 seconds later and drew the foul she needed to earn her fourth and fifth attempts from the free throw line. After converting on both, the Warriors reclaimed their lead at 57-56.

The Yotes ended up with two shot opportunities down the stretch to pull off the road upset after a Golenor defensive rebound led to free throws at the opposite end, but the Yotes managed to force a second attempt after the attempts led to their own defensive rebound. Following a Coyote timeout to advance the ball to their offensive half of the court, a last-ditch effort three-point attempt with one second remaining from guard Kenadee French fell just short, allowing the Warriors to escape with a one-point victory.

Koehnke's 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists powered Corban to their ninth win of the season, with Golenor falling two points shy of a double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds. Godwin completed her afternoon with 12 points, adding a trio of assists and rebounds as well.

Riley led all players with 19 points on 8-for-15 field goal attempts, bringing down four rebounds and dealing out a pair of assists along the way. Yotes' guard Jada Reed pitched in 11 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes played.

The Corban Women's Basketball team returns to action next weekend in Portland, where they will face the Multnomah University Lions (3-14, 1-10) and the Warner Pacific University Knights (1-15, 1-10) in their first road games to kick off the second half of conference play.

Original source can be found here