Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo. Raiders bully Crusaders in first round, 85-63 3/10/2016 3:25:00 PM SOU Sports Information SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The third-ranked Southern Oregon women's basketball team and the unranked Clarke University (Iowa) turned out to be just as mismatched on the court Thursday afternoon at the Tyson Events Center as they were on paper. In the first round of the NAIA Division II National Tournament, the Raiders lived up to their No. 1 seed in the Duer Bracket with an 85-63 defeat of the Crusaders in which they came up with 23 steals and forced 29 turnovers. They advanced to the second round for the second year in a row after a 15-year drought without a tournament win. SOU will play fourth-seeded and 15th-ranked Briar Cliff (Iowa) at 5:15 p.m. Central Time on Friday, attempting to advance to the national quarterfinals for the first time since 1997. The Chargers won their opener against No. 5 seed Saint Ambrose, 75-63. Autumn Durand recorded 21 points, 11 rebounds and three steals, and Ashley Claussen had 17 points, six steals and five assists to lead the Raiders, who improved to 30-1 overall to establish a new school record for wins. The Crusaders, who took one of three automatic bids from the Association of Independent Institutions to the tournament, finished up with a record of 19-13, missing out on a chance to pick up the program's first-ever tournament win. The Raider defense rattled Clarke from the start, forcing 10 turnovers in the first quarter and four in the opening minute. SOU was up 16-3 after Toria Bradford's 3-pointer just under six minutes into the contest. "I was happy we started off well, because your biggest worry is that someone comes out and gets hot and we panic," SOU first-year head coach Alex Carlson said. "We got some easy looks off turnovers, and that helped, but we were still pretty tight and I bet we missed 10 'gimmes' that could've put us up by a lot more." The Raiders never got particularly hot from the field. They shot 41 percent – the same clip as the Crusaders – but got off 27 more shots than their opponents thanks to a plus-eight turnover margin and 22 offensive rebounds to Clarke's 10. Carly Meister was their most efficient scorer, going 7-of-9 for 15 points and five boards. In four postseason games this season, the senior center is now 29-of-41 from the field. SOU went 6-for-14 from 3-point range in the first half – Bradford had two of those, finishing with nine points and four assists – and the last of those, from Majerle Reeves, made it a 43-27 game with 1:19 left in the second quarter. The lead stretched to 26 points in the third, 68-42, when Durand made her second triple. She shot 9-of-14 overall, scoring 20-plus for the third time this season. Freshman post Courtney Setzer added 10 rebounds off the bench. Tiani Bradford wreaked havoc defensively with six steals to go with six assists, Sydney Mullings added four steals, and Demi Sahlinger registered five rebounds and four assists. The Crusaders were led by forward Kelsey Ernst's 12 points and 10 rebounds. They only attempted five 3-pointers and didn't connect on any of them. According to Carlson, Friday's game against Briar Cliff could present the tourney's most interesting possible matchup for the Raiders. "They play just like us," Carlson said. "They're going to press you and drop back into a zone, and they're going to be one of the first teams we've seen that tries to run with us. It should be a fun one." The Chargers (23-9) advanced to last year's national semifinals, and Thursday's win over Saint Ambrose made them 13-0 all-time in the first round. They earned an at-large bid after finishing fourth in the Great Plains Athletic Conference with a record of 14-8 and are led by senior point Jessi Corrick, who averages 14.4 points, 4.4 assists and 2.3 steals. Whichever team advances will play either third-seeded Tabor (Kan.) or seventh-seeded Asbury (Ky.) at 6 p.m. Saturday. Asbury pulled off a 63-60 upset of the No. 2 seed in the bracket, St. Francis (Ill.).