Southern Oregon opened the second half on a 17-2 run to overcome a double-digit halftime deficit, but Northwest Christian pulled out a 60-56 win over the Raiders in the regular-season finale for both teams
Southern Oregon’s season record falls to 14-15 overall and 5-13 in Cascade Collegiate Conference Play. Northwest Christian improves to 12-18 overall and 4-14 in conference play. The Beacons’ season comes to an end and the Raiders await the conference’s 10 p.m. announcement of the tournament bracket to see where they will play the tournament opener on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Angelica Cahee scored a game-high 15 points for the Raiders and added seven rebounds, while Krysten Copeland finished with 10 points and eight boards in the loss.
Lindsey Shearer led a group of five NCU players who reached double-figures, scoring 12 points and grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds. Aly Bruns, Katie Collins and Martha Taylor each finished with 11 and Jess Anderson added 10 points.
Northwest Christian broke a 10-10 tie midway through the first half when Bruns hit a three-pointer that sparked a 17-6 NCU run that gave the Beacons a 27-16 halftime lead. Kiara Moore made a layup to open the second half, and the Raiders scored nine straight points and 17 of the first 19 points of the half to take a 33-29 lead following a Copeland jumper.
The Beacons scored the next nine points to regain a five-point lead, but the Raiders hung close and held their final advantage at 45-44 following a Cahee layup with 7:25 to play. Shearer responded with a layup at the other end, as the Beacons used an 8-0 run to regain a seven-point lead with four minutes remaining.
Back-to-back Cahee jumpers pulled SOU back to within three, and a pair of Haley Newell free throws made it 54-53 with 36 seconds to go. Northwest Christian made six of eight free throw attempts in the final 30 seconds to hold on for the win.
Southern Oregon shot 48.3 percent (14-of-29) in the second half to fuel the comeback attempt, but the Raiders connected on only two of 14 shot attempts from beyond the arc. Northwest Christian won despite a 29.5 shooting percentage (18-of-61).
