Jacki Speer's work on the boards helped SOU come from behind in its win over Cascade Friday night.
SOU Rallies to Beat Cascade, Advances to CCC Title Game
ASHLAND, Ore. -- The Cascade Thunderbirds, fresh off an upset of top-seeded Eastern Oregon, gave the No. 2-seeded Southern Oregon University Raiders all they could handle and then some in the Cascade Conference Tournament semifinals Friday night, but fell short by a 65-58 score.
With the victory, the Raiders moved into the championship game on Monday night against third-seeded College of Idaho. C of I beat Oregon Tech 63-44 Friday afternoon to advance to the championship game. SOU beat C of I twice during the regular season.
Against SOU, the T'birds jumped in front 7-0 on a three-pointer by Robin Swain two minutes into the game. The Raiders tied the score at 12 with 14 minutes left on an Emily Brookins three-pointer.
From there the first half lead went back and forth. By the time Rhinnian Dickison hit a three-pointer with 8:02 left in the half, SOU was leading 31-21. A Raquel Morin jumper at the buzzer brought Cascade back to within two points at halftime, 37-35.
Thirty seconds into the second half Morin made a three-pointer and the Thunderbirds had the lead 38-37 and would hold it for most of the second half. Cascade built up a ten-point lead at 51-41 at the 11:52 mark in the second half.
SOU took the lead back with seven minutes left in the game, 56-54, on a Dickison three-pointer.
The Raiders turned up their defensive pressure and held the 'Birds to four points over the remainder of the game. Sophomore Jacki Speer dominated the boards with 13 rebounds, many of those in the final minutes of the game as Casade was held to just one shot per possession. In the end, Chelsey Muri, Speer and Brookins each hit free throws to provide for the final margin of victory.
SOU, the highest scoring team in the league, was held to 17 points below its average. Cascade was led by Te Awhina Aranui's double-double of 16 rebounds and 10 points. Raquel Morin had 19 points and Robin Swain 18 to lead the Thunderbirds, who shot 22-63 for the game.
SOU was led by Muri with 15 points. Rhiannon Dickison had 13 points. Speer had eight points to go along with 13 rebounds. SOU shot 33 percent (19 of 58) from the field.
Cascade ended its season at 15-17 overall. SOU improved to 28-4 overall, equaling the best record in school history. The Raiders are unbeaten (14-0) this season at McNeal Pavilion.
The winner of Monday night's championship game will advance to the NAIA national tournament, March 12-18, in Sioux City, Iowa.