Oregon Tech's Nohea Waiwaiole defends SOU's Autumn Durand in tonight's 7th Annual Pink Out event at Danny Miles Court.
Cold Shooting Night Dooms Oregon Tech, Falls 61-48 to Southern Oregon
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Oregon Tech held No. 12 Southern Oregon University to a season-low 61 points but couldn’t overcome a 23-percent shooting effort, as the Owls fell to the Raiders 61-48 in tonight’s 7
th Annual Pink Out event held tonight at Danny Miles Court.
Oregon Tech fell to 11-5 overall and now sit at 5-2 in the conference standings. Meanwhile, SOU remains unbeaten at 14-0 on the season and improved to 7-0 in CCC play.
The Southern Oregon defense stymied the Owls in the opening quarter, forcing eight turnovers and allowing just two Tech field goals on the way to a 16-8 lead.
Tiani Bradford’s 3-pointer early in the second quarter helped the Raiders build their first double-digit lead, 20-10, with SOU taking a 12-point lead, their largest of the first half, 24-12, with three minutes remaining on a Toria Bradford score.
Tech’s Ashleigh Vandenbrink connected from long range, with Morgan Roberts grabbing her own miss and scoring, cutting the Owls’ deficit to 24-17.
A Roberts score with 40 seconds on the clock trimmed Tech’s deficit to five, before SOU’s Autumn Durand closed out the quarter with a pair of free throws giving the Raiders a 30-23 advantage at the break.
Carly McIsaac got the Owls on the scoreboard with a 3-pointer to open the third quarter, but back-to-back treys by SOU’s Demi Sahlinger and Courtney Setzer capped a 12-0 run giving the Raiders a 42-26 lead.
A basket and ensuing Megan Whetstone free throw, followed by a short jumper by Roberts, got the Owls to 42-31.
A Meister layup, however, would get the Raiders going again, building a 19-point lead 53-34 with 1:11 to play in the third quarter. The score remained the same heading into the final period.
Oregon Tech managed a comeback in the fourth quarter, cutting their deficit to 10 points on two occasions, the first on a Vandenbrink 3-pointer with 2:30 remaining to play and last on a Nohea Waiwaiole free throw with just over a minute to play. The Owls never got closer, falling by a 61-48 score.
Ashleigh Vandenbrink led the Owls with 11 points, followed by Megan Whetstone and Morgan Roberts with eight points apiece in the loss. Roberts grabbed seven rebounds and handed out three assists. Vandenbrink and Nohea Waiwaiole recorded six rebounds each.
Oregon Tech hit on just 16-of-68 (23.5%) tries, including a 5-for-23 showing from beyond the arch and 11-of-17 from the free throw line. SOU held a 54-45 edge on the boards with each team gaining 19 on the offensive end.
Demi Sahlinger led SOU with 11 points with Carly Meister adding 10 in the win. Autumn Durand neared a double-double grabbing 11 rebounds and netting nine points with Ashley Claussen recording four assists to go with four steals.
SOU finished 20-of-64 (31.3%) from the field with a 5-for-19 showing from the 3-point line and 16-of-22 from the free throw line.