Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
Raiders rough up Beacons, 84-37
SOU Sports Information
ASHLAND – A senior night celebration and must-win scenario did little to deter fifth-ranked Southern Oregon's focus in its 84-37 domination of Northwest Christian on Saturday at Mountain Avenue Gym.
The Raiders (24-3 overall, 17-2 Cascade Conference) went back to the defensive well – forcing 32 turnovers, including 19 in the first half, and holding the fourth-place Beacons (17-10, 14-6) to 26-percent shooting in their 30th consecutive conference home victory.
SOU pulled back into a first-place tie with Eastern Oregon, which was off Saturday and wraps up its regular season against last-place Walla Walla at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Raiders will host Corban at the same time, attempting to secure at least a share of their second CCC title in a row.
Sydney Mullings shot 8-of-13 with 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals to lead SOU.
Autumn Durand had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, bringing her career point total to 1,516 while passing
Carly Meister and Nada Janakovic to move into third place on SOU's all-time scoring list.
Toria Bradford added nine points, five steals, five rebounds and four assists.
Tiani Bradford had eight points and five assists, point guard
Demi Sahlinger added eight points and four assists without a turnover, and
Casey Williams totaled eight points and 11 boards off the bench.
The Raiders led for the final 36 minutes and didn't allow the Beacons to score in double figures in a quarter until they tallied 12 in the fourth. It was 25-8 after the first quarter and as lopsided as 41-13 in the second.
The Beacons, who will take the No. 4 seed into the conference tournament, finished with their lowest point total since Nov. 15, 2008. Hanna Mack had team-highs of 11 points and eight rebounds.
If both SOU and EOU win Sunday, a coin flip will decide who receives the CCC's first automatic bid to the NAIA Division II Championships. The loser of the coin flip would get the No. 1 seed in the conference tourney, which starts with Tuesday's quarterfinal round.