TOURNAMENT BRACKET
ASHLAND – Southern Oregon experienced the highs of an improbable NAIA Tournament comeback last year, rallying from 29 points down to advance. This year, the Raiders' season ended on the lows of the other side.
No. 5 seed Menlo (Calif.) scored 34 points over the first three quarters before outscoring No. 4 seed SOU 28-4 in the fourth – an 18-0 run over the final five minutes included – to leave Lithia Motors Pavilion with a stunning 62-58 victory Saturday in the second round.
All-star junior forward Jordyn Rosette scored 21 points and with 1:25 to go made the game-tying 3-pointer, the Oaks' fifth of the period after they'd hit two coming into it. Three Raider turnovers and four Menlo free throws the rest of the way completed the upset.
The Raiders finished at 28-5, stopped one win short of the tourney's final site. They had an 18-game winning streak entering the game and were in total control after turning it around with a 19-4 second quarter in which they used their defense to create four fast-break buckets.
A replay review that waved off Mallory Williams' 3 at the third-quarter buzzer appeared moot at the time. It would have put the Raiders up 57-34. It instead started a doom cycle fueled by 10 turnovers and 2-of-11 shooting the rest of the way.
With SOU up 58-44 and 4:20 left, Menlo's Kiara Brown connected from 3, SOU committed a turnover, Rosette drilled another 3 in transition, SOU had an empty possession, and Alberte Frisch launched another successful attempt from deep. In a span of 47 seconds, the lead was down to five.
Frisch cut deeper into it with a pair of free throws at the 1:37 mark. Shay Boley then picked off SOU's ensuing inbound pass, leading to Rosette's game-tying triple. Another Raider turnover on their next trip enabled Jasmyne Hugging to get loose in transition; she was fouled going up and knocked down a pair at the line with 1:06 to go.
The Raiders had two chances to tie but couldn't. With five seconds remaining, Boley's two free throws put them away.
The Oaks shot 7-of-11 from the field and 9-of-10 at the line in the fourth after going 15-of-47 and 2-of-4 leading up to it. Brown scored 10 in the period and finished with 19 and 10 rebounds.
Menlo (20-8) advanced to play Campbellsville (Ky.), the top seed in the Duer quadrant of the bracket, in a Round of 16 matchup Friday in Sioux City, Iowa.
Clara Robbins led the Raiders with 12 points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks before fouling out late. Kami Walk – the three-time Cascade Conference all-star and two-time All-America honorable mention recipient – went out with 10 points, five boards and three assists. It was the 87th time in Walk's career that she scored in double figures.
She departs as the third-leading scorer (1,646) and fourth-leading rebounder (910) in SOU history.
As a team, the Raiders matched the fourth-highest win total in team history. They were champions of the Cascade Conference regular season and tournament, winning both for the first time in eight years.