Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo. SOU steps up, moves on with 81-70 defeat of No. 15 Briar Cliff 3/11/2016 9:46:00 PM SOU Sports Information SIOUX CITY, Iowa – With history, momentum and foul trouble suddenly working against Southern Oregon in Friday's fourth quarter, the list of reasons to panic about capturing a win that had eluded the Raiders for 19 years was gaining validity. But, continuing a trend that has been thoroughly developed throughout this historic season, the third-ranked Raiders had a list of contributors fighting to move on that overwhelmed. For the first time since 1997, they advanced to the national quarterfinals by defeating 15th-ranked, fourth-seeded and tournament host Briar Cliff (Iowa), 81-70, at the Tyson Events Center. Senior point guard Ashley Claussen's 22 points and five assists, junior forward Autumn Durand's 16 points and eight rebounds and sophomore guard Demi Sahlinger's 12 points, six rebounds and three assists were at the core of SOU's resistance – that which turned a four-point halftime deficit into a 65-54 after the three quarters, and later shut down the Chargers (23-10) when all-star center Carly Meister's fifth foul disqualified her with 9:42 left to play and the lead was immediately slashed to three. "You go through the list and it's pretty special," SOU head coach Alex Carlson said. "Literally everyone had their moments, but Ashley was a complete stud tonight and Demi was just tougher than hell." Set to play for the third time in as many days, the Raiders will bring their 31-1 record into Saturday's 4 p.m. Pacific Time matchup with 11th-ranked and third-seeded Tabor (Kan.) (28-7), the same team that knocked them out via upset in last year's second round. To avoid the same fate this year, the Raiders went toe to toe with the team that perhaps most resembled them at the 32-team tourney in terms of fast-paced style and size. The Chargers (23-10) – who improved to 13-0 all-time in the first round with Thursday's defeat of Saint Ambrose (Iowa) and were following up on an appearance in the 2015 semifinals – established themselves early, jumping out to a 25-19 lead a minute into the second quarter and a 42-38 edge at the break. The Raiders, who lead the nation in average turnover margin, had committed 12 turnovers to the Chargers' seven by halftime. "We just kind of got out-muscled," Carlson said. "We were playing fine but they were just out-working us, winning 50-50 balls and getting on the glass. We had to challenge our team at halftime and they came out like gangbusters and just jumped on them." In the first three minutes of the third, five different Raiders made five buckets during a 10-2 run. After BCU's Morgan Hansen countered with a 3-pointer, Toria Bradford and Claussen nailed back-to-back triples to give the Raiders a 54-47 edge, and another Claussen 3 made it a nine-point lead with two minutes left in the frame. Sahlinger – who fueled the run with a jumper to open the third – provided the highlight of the night to cap the third, coming up with a steal when Kristin Smeaton knocked the ball away from Taylor Vasa with five seconds remaining and dribbling into a shot that she sank just inside the half-court line to make it 65-54 at the buzzer. Meister fouled out on the first possession of the fourth, and the Chargers' 8-0 run that immediately ensued trimmed the lead to 65-62. Durand – who went for 22 points and 11 boards in SOU's 85-63 first-round win over Clarke (Iowa) – came up big again, though, with a 3-pointer to make it 68-62 followed by a bucket inside off Toria Bradford's dish that made it 70-64. Jessi Corrick responded with a jumper for BCU, but Claussen was left wide open in the corner for her sixth 3-pointer and a 73-66 edge with 3:17 to play. Leading 75-68 inside the final two minutes, the Raiders ran down the shot clock and Sahlinger hit another fall-away jumper with two seconds to spare that turned into the dagger. Corrick, an all-star senior point guard, finished with 13 points, seven assists and four rebounds for the Chargers. Kaylee Blake, a 6-foot-2 junior center, and Morgan Hansen scored 17 apiece as BCU shot 44 percent from the field – the fourth-best clip for a Raider opponent this season. The Raiders overcame that performance with 53-percent shooting (32-of-61), their best effort of the postseason, including 11-of-26 marksmanship from downtown. Tiani Bradford compiled nine points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, Toria Bradford had eight points, four assists and three boards, and Setzer stepped in for Meister with six points on 3-of-3 shooting, four rebounds and three key blocks. Tabor advanced in the Huer Bracket with an overtime defeat of seventh-seeded Asbury (Ky.), 80-73, in its second-round game. The Bluejays had held their previous three opponents to 53 points or less and ranked 11th in the nation this season in opponents' scoring (58.3 points). Last year, they were unranked when they knocked the Raiders out with a 72-65 win and three starters are back from that squad. "It's pretty crazy to get an opportunity to play them again for a chance to go to the Final Four," Carlson said. "I know our players are excited for it." The winner will play either 10th-ranked Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) or 18th-ranked Goshen (Ind.) at 4 p.m. PT Monday in the semifinals.