EUGENE, Ore. – The Bushnell University women's basketball team opened Cascade Collegiate Conference play with a win on Tuesday, defeating Corban University 59-48 in the Morse Center.
 
Head Coach Chad Meadors said, "It was a great win tonight by the Beacons. Our defense and rebounding really stepped up tonight. I'm really pleased with the overall effort on loose balls. When that ball got shot, we went after it. On a night we didn't shoot the ball well, we found other ways to get it done."
 
Bushnell (4-2, 1-0 CCC) led 16-10 after the first quarter before holding Corban (2-4, 0-1) to single digits in the second and third periods. The Beacons led by as many as 22 points early in the fourth quarter, but the Warriors more than doubled their point total from the first three periods to bring the final score to 59-48.
 
Aspen Slifka led all scorers with 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting and added nine rebounds. Kalina Rojas also finished just short of a double-double, recording 12 points and nine rebounds. Libby Mathis added six points and three blocks.
 
"It was just fun to see us working as a team to get open shots, play for each other and play with each other," said Slifka. "The energy was great tonight on the court and on the bench. We came with energy, our crowd came with energy, and we are all super excited to win our conference opener."
 
On a night where the Beacons shot just 37.1% from the floor, including 3-for-23 from deep, they found a way to get it done defensively, holding the Warriors to 26.6% shooting on the night.
 
Slifka said, "Rebounding has been a huge emphasis for us. We knew we had to get better on the boards if we wanted to compete in conference. It really showed tonight the work we have been putting in. The entire team is putting in the work and trying our best to win the boards. We really executed.:
 
Tori Younker led the Warriors in scoring, posting seven points and five rebounds.
 
Bushnell returns to action on December 2-3, hosting Warner Pacific and Multnomah in the Morse Center.