EUGENE, Ore. – Senior McKenzie Gambee scored 21 points on Friday night, leading NCU to victory over Corban College, 57-54. For the Beacon women's basketball program it was the first win ever on the road against the Warriors, in five attempts. Corban holds an 8-2 lead in the all-time series. On Saturday the Beacons took on #17 Concordia in Portland, only to fall 73-38.

Corban went ahead early on Friday night, charging out to a 21-8 lead. The Beacons soon regrouped and utilized a 16-3 run to climb within one point, 24-23 with 5:36 remaining. The Warriors clung to a 29-26 lead at the intermission, but the Beacons came out with a winning mindset, and used back-to-back buckets in the first two minutes of the second half, establishing their first lead of the game, 30-29. The Warriors tied the game and over the next ten minutes both teams seemingly traded shot-for-shot.

The game was knotted at 44-44 with 6:20 remaining, but over the next 75 seconds the Beacons hit a field goal and were 5-for-5 on free-throw attempts as they took a 51-44 lead. Corban rallied again and were down 55-54 with 47 seconds to play after a three-pointer from Katie Steigleman. Coming out of a timeout, NCU drew up and perfectly executed a play that gave Calie McVicker an easy layup with 19 ticks remaining as the Beacons snagged a 3-point lead. The Warriors were afforded one last chance to tie the game, but a turnover by Kailey Bostwick sealed the deal, giving the Beacons just their second CCC win of the season.

“I think the team finally realizes the despairation of our situation,” said Head Coach Liz Turner-Bolton. “We really need to start winning some games if we want to do something in the conference. We can be in any game we play as long as the effort and attitude remains high and I think we showed that tonight.”

Gambee finished the game hitting 7-for-14 from the field, adding six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. McVicker was right behind with 11 points and five steals. The Warriors (8-12, 4-8) were led by Stiegleman who finished with a game-high 24 points and ten rebounds. She was the only Corban player in double-figures.

Saturday would be a different story for the Beacons as they shot just 24% in the game and couldn't complete what would have been their first conference sweep of the season. NCU took a quick 6-2 lead after a layup from Gambee, but the Cavaliers followed with a 7-2 streak to take the lead for good. By the time intermission hit, Concordia had doubled the advantage with a 44-22 lead.

A cold shooting night for NCU got colder in the second half as the Beacons hit just five field goals in the period, scoring just 16 more points. Northwest Christian would shoot just 22% in the half. Elise Gray led the Beacons in scoring, grabbing 13 points that included a 6-for-6 effort at the free-throw line. McVicker scored eight points, adding a game-high eight rebounds.

Concordia was led by Rebecca Gimeno with 17 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the field. As a team, the Cavs shot 51% from the floor on the night, including a strong 7-for-9 performance in the post by center Ann Snodderly, who scored 15. The Cavaliers also held the rebounding edge, 49-31 and forced 22 NCU turnovers.

The Beacons (7-14, 2-10 CCC) will be back in action next weekend as they come home for a pair of games against Warner Pacific on Friday and Cascade on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for a 5:30 pm tip-off.