Photo courtesy of Nick Askew.
Dakota Wesleyan stops Raiders in Round of 16
SOU Sports Information
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The proof was in the turnover column that No. 7-ranked Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) was coerced into a Southern Oregon-friendly game Friday afternoon in the NAIA Division II Tournament's Round of 16.
The No. 10 Raiders forced 36 turnovers – enough to keep them close against the Great Plains Athletic Conference power, but not enough to support an offense that stalled out late in a 76-61 Tigers win at the Tyson Events Center.
DWU (29-6 overall), the No. 2 seed in the Naismith bracket, strung together a 7-2 spurt to end the third quarter and had a 21-12 advantage in the fourth, when the Raiders shot 4-of-16. The Tigers got up 21 fewer field-goal attempts but shot 49 percent (21-of-43), doubled SOU's 3-point total and went 26-of-34 at the free-throw line.
Senior guard
Remi Mejia tallied 20 points and three steals, and she scored 10 straight of the Raiders' third-quarter points to pull them within 48-47 with 2:51 left.
The Raiders left their fourth straight trip to the tournament and their sixth appearance in the second round with a 28-5 record. The loss ended the careers of seniors
Nitteayah Barfield,
Toria Bradford,
Casey Williams and Mejia. Bradford, the lone holdover from SOU's 2016 national runner-up team (on which Barfield was a redshirt), went 88-12 in her three-year career.
Kynedi Cheeseman scored 22 to lead DWU. But twin 6-foot sisters Amber Bray, who had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Ashley Bray, who added 16 and 10, were responsible for putting the game away.
Ashley Bray's 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter made it 58-49, marking DWU's biggest lead since the first quarter. After SOU scored five straight, getting buckets from Syd'Nee Fryre and
Ariel Augustine, Amber Bray chimed in with back-to-back jumpers. Another Ashley Bray bucket inside made it 62-54, and Riley Osthus later hit the gut-punch 3 that put the Tigers up 71-60 with 2:56 to play.
Bothered by SOU's pressure throughout, the Tigers survived with sharp shooting from mid-range and out, going 8-of-17 from 3. They were outscored 40-16 in the paint.
Junior forward
Ariel Augustine was 5-of-12 with 10 points for the Raiders, and Bradford totaled eight points, three assists and three steals before fouling out.
Kenadee Honaker also had three steals, and Fryer and Williams both collected two.
The Raiders fell behind 16-6 seven minutes into the game before Mejia got them settled in with a deep 3 and a runner in the lane. They briefly took the lead, 31-30, when Bradford drove inside for two with 11 seconds left in the second, but Amber Bray beat the buzzer with a corner 3 to take it back before halftime.
The Tigers moved on to play top-ranked Southeastern (Fla.) in Saturday's quarterfinal round.
Mejia finished her lone season at SOU with 590 points, the fifth-most in Raider single-season history. Bradford departs at No. 5 on the career steals list (247), No. 9 on the assists list (330), and with 918 points.