ASHLAND – Southern Oregon's defense set the tone before its offense caught up behind Kami Walk's double-double in a 77-55 season-opening win against Hope International (Calif.) at the Raider Classic on Thursday night inside Lithia Motors Pavilion.
Walk, a two-time NAIA All-America honorable mention forward, finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, scoring 15 in the second half. Three more Raiders – Emma Schmerbach (11 points), Megan McIntyre (10) and Izzy Hernandez (10) – joined her in double figures.
SOU rattled the Royals (2-1) early at the rim by recording nine of their 11 blocks in the first half and forced them to live beyond the arc, where they shot just 8-of-35. Clara Robbins blocked four shots, while Walk and Mallory Williams blocked three apiece.
The Raiders also had 14 steals, an effort spurred by Hernandez off the bench. Along with her career-high point total, Hernandez collected four steals and seven rebounds while dishing out three assists. McIntyre and Makayla Scurlock, who added eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, both had three steals.
After going 3-of-12 with eight turnovers in the first quarter, the Raiders shot 50 percent with only nine turnovers over the next three.
The Royals cut a 13-point halftime deficit to six early in the third before McIntyre and Walk got SOU going. McIntyre hit three straight jumpers in the period, two of them from 3-point range, and Walk went 5-of-7 in the second half after struggling in the first.
Shaine Talley scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting for the Royals. Her teammates combined to go 12-of-55.
The Raiders play their second and final game of the Classic at 6:30 p.m. Friday against Simpson (Calif.), which lost 77-51 to Oregon Tech in Thursday's early game.