Haley Newell led SOU with 17 points
SOU Downs William Jessup 68-65
BOX SCORE
KLAMATH FALLS – Southern Oregon overcame a nine-point first-half deficit and withstood a late William Jessup rally to earn a 68-65 women’s basketball victory Friday night at the Midland Empire Insurance Classic hosted by Oregon Tech.
The Raiders improved to 7-0 overall this season, while William Jessup fell to 0-6. Southern Oregon returns home for its next contest, hosting Montreat Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Bob Riehm Arena.
Haley Newell led the way for SOU with 17 points, with Nalani Hernandez tallying 14 points and seven rebounds. Josi McDermott finished with 10 points as the Raiders shot 36.0 percent (18-of-50) from the field in the game.
Maria Viola connected on five three-pointers in the game to score a game-high 25 points. Cassie Davidson scored 13 for the Warriors, and Lindsey Cesena grabbed 10 rebounds.
William Jessup took an early lead with a hot opening six minutes of the contest. With the game tied 7-7 four minutes in, Maria Viola hit a free throw to give the Warriors the lead, then connected on a three-pointer the next time down the court. Cesena hit a three on the Warriors’ next possession, and a jumper by Brittany Smith made it 16-7.
The Raiders used a seven-point run later in the first half to pull within two points at 29-27. Newell scored all seven points for SOU, knocking down a three-pointer before hitting a pair of free throws and a jumper. Southern Oregon tied it up at 31-31, but Davidson made a three to put WJU up 34-31 at halftime.
Southern Oregon used a 15-4 run in the opening minutes of the second half to take an eight-point lead, sparked by three-pointers from Newell, McDermott and Hernandez. William Jessup responded with a 10-2 run to tie it up at 48-48 with 10:08 remaining in the game.
Another SOU run put the Raiders up by nine with 6:08 to play, as the Raiders hit seven consecutive free throws. They held the nine-point advantage until the final 159 seconds of the contest, when a pair of three-pointers from Viola pulled WJU within four with 1:26 remaining.
The Raiders made three of four free throw attempts down the stretch to protect their lead after Alyssa Wright’s jumper made it 65-63 with 39 seconds to go. Wright made a pair of free throws at the end of the game, but the Raiders held on for the 68-65 win.