EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 17 Northwest Christian University women’s basketball team beat Southern Oregon in dominant fashion with an 84-60 rout on Friday night.
Tonight’s game had large implications for CCC standings as Southern Oregon beat NCU at home 77-75 earlier this season and were just two games behind the Beacons in the loss column.
The Beacons (19-4, 13-2 CCC) started the game on an 18-6 run before finishing the first quarter with a 24-8 lead. NCU shot 58% from the field and 4-of-8 from three point range over the first ten minutes. In the second quarter the Beacons continued to pull away, shooting 11-for-18 from the field to take a commanding 52-32 lead into halftime.
Morgan McKinney led the way with 17 first-half points hitting 4-for-5 from three-point range. Defensively, NCU held the Raiders to just 23% shooting from the field and forced 11 turnovers.
The Beacons were able to extend their lead to as many as 36 in the third quarter, shooting 9-of-18 from the field. SOU rallied in the fourth, holding NCU’s second unit to just six points for a more respectable 24-point loss.
On the night, the Beacons shot 46% from the field with 11 three pointers. The NCU defense created six steals and seven blocks as they caused 14 Raider turnovers.
Head Coach Chad Meadors stated, “We played really well tonight, particularly in the first half. Defensively it was a real impressive sight. We locked down and took SOU out of rhythm and it certainly helped us on the offensive end.”
Daranda Hinkey and Danasia Allison led the way for Southern Oregon (15-8, 11-5) with eight points apiece while Kami Walk added six points and seven rebounds in the loss. The Raiders were out-rebounded 47-44 but pulled in 17 on the offensive glass. SOU’s leading scorers Dominque Harding and Syd’Nee Fryer shot just 3-for-17 combined, scoring seven points.
“Shanay Dotson had a fantastic game on the defensive end,” said Meadors. “Dominique Harding had 28 points in our first meeting and Shanay did a great job limiting her tonight.”
Junior Morgan McKinney led the way for the Beacons with a game-high 19 points, along with seven rebounds and six assists as she shot 7-of-13 from the field. Freshman Aspen Slifka scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting while Kaylen Kamelamela tallied 13 points.
Reigning CCC Player of the Week Kayce Mock grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and five blocks while Shanay Dotson contributed six rebounds and five assists. Seniors Dani Baker and Hannah Eddens came off the bench to combine for 18 points while Alyssa Kuskie chipped in six points and a pair of assists.
Meadors said, “Morgan was as outstanding as ever and everybody that came in for us tonight contributed and did a great job. I am super pleased with our effort and I hope we can continue our defensive play against OIT tomorrow.”
Northwest Christian will resume action tomorrow as they take on Oregon Tech (14-10, 8-6). SOU heads to Salem to face Corban University. Both games are set for 5:30 pm tip-offs.