Photo courtesy of LCSC Sports Information.
Southern Oregon University Athletics
The women’s Raiders have had an exciting turn of events lately. In the past seven days, the Raiders won three games of the Cascade Conference Championships: quarterfinals, semifinals, and the championship game. The quarterfinal and semifinal matchups were both held at the Lithia Motors Pavilion, and the Raider nation did not disappoint with their support.
The Raider’s final rank was second in conference play with a record of 18-4, but the team pulled through to crush Lewis-Clark State for the conference tourney title. Currently, this Raider season is ranked as the third-highest wins total in team history.
The last time the Raiders were ranked first in conference and were tourney title winners was in 2016. The 2016 team worked its way through the National Tournament to end up taking second place in the nation. The Raiders will showcase at the NAIA National Tournament for the sixth time in the past seven seasons.
Wednesday: Raiders VS Northwest University
Top Point Scorers
- Kami Walk (20)
- Brianna Phiakhamngon (15)
- Syd’Nee Fryer (13)
- Kalei Iwami (9)
Final Score: 75-50
Friday: Raiders VS Eastern Oregon
Top Point Scorers
- Kami Walk (15)
- Dominique Harding (15)
- Syd’Nee Fryer (13)
- Brianna Phiakhamngon (10)
The win against Eastern was the Raiders 15-0 home game win.
Final Score: 65-58
Monday Recap VS Lewis-Clark State
Despite the previous loss that allowed for the Lewis-Clark State Warriors to take the conference first-place ranking, the Raiders came out with a vengeance Monday night. By the start of the second quarter, the Raiders had doubled their lead over the Warriors. The women’s team lead all four quarters with the most scored points. The Raiders beat the Warriors with a 22-point lead. They finished the night with a final score of 56-34. This was the lowest point total the Warriors have had in at least 20 years.
The game included stellar performances from the team. Phiakhamngon, a junior guard, scored a season-high (21) and had five three-pointers in the game. Walk, a sophomore forward, had 20 points on the night with nine rebounds. Harding, a senior guard, also pushed her team with 13 rebounds.
Recently, the head coach for the Raiders team Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt was named the CCC Coach of the Year. This season is Kloppenburg-Pruitt’s first for the Raiders. In addition, Syd’Nee Fryer and Kami Walk were named All-CCC team with Brianna Phiakhamngon receiving honorable mention.
The women’s Raiders are on the road now to the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament. The women’s team is slated to play their first game for the National Tournament on March 11th with a second potential game on March 12th.
