Photo courtesy of Jim Lee, Sioux City Journal. Marian shuts down SOU's title try, 59-48 3/15/2016 8:24:00 PM SOU Sports Information SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The grind of the NAIA Division II National Tournament and the void left by an All-American point guard caught up to Southern Oregon University on Tuesday night at the Tyson Events Center. It didn't help that the ninth-ranked Marian University (Ind.) Knights put forth a banner-worthy performance in the national championship game, either. After maneuvering through the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds without their injured star, Ashley Claussen, the third-ranked Raiders finally ran out of answers in a 59-48 loss that marked their first appearance in the title game. They shot 30 percent from the field, their lowest clip of the season, and misfired on 23 of 27 attempts from 3-point range after going 35-of-93 through the first four rounds. "We had the looks, and that's all you can ask for in a championship game," first-year SOU head coach Alex Carlson said. "When you look at the stats, it's amazing we were even that close. It's hard, though, because this is the type of group that's so competitive, they want nothing less than that a championship. That's why we were in this position in the first place." SOU ended the most successful season in team history, and its first run past the second round in 19 years, with a record of 33-2. Senior post Carly Meister went out with a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds, and junior forward Autumn Durand had 13 points and nine boards. Claussen, Meister and Kristin Smeaton will depart with 110 wins in four years – the most in team history. The Knights, who had lost three of five games preceding the tournament, finished up their first championship season at 32-6. On their way they knocked off top-ranked Morningside (Iowa), the 2015 champion, and SOU, which was the only No. 1 seed left in the Fab Four. Marian guards Lakan Hasser-Smith and Kellie Kirkhoff scored 16 points apiece to lead the way. Hasser-Smith also produced the back-breaking shots of the night: Her jumper at the third-quarter buzzer put the Knights up 42-33, and her 3-pointer on the first possession of the fourth extended the lead to 12 while simultaneously giving her 2,000 career points. When Durand's jumper and Sydney Mullings' second-chance bucket got the Raider within 47-39 with 6:38 to play, Marian seized momentum again as Joana Soeiro found Kirkhoff cutting down the middle of the lane and Kirkhoff finished while absorbing contact for a three-point play. After that, SOU never got closer than eight points until the final minute of play. Fresh off a clinical 84-55 win over 12th-ranked Mount Marty (S.D.) in Saturday's semifinals, the Knights endured some shooting struggles of their own with a 35-percent mark from the field (19-of-55). But they handled SOU's defensive juggernaut with just 10 turnovers, four fewer than any other SOU opponent this season. The Raiders had forced 89 turnovers in the first four games of the tourney. "The biggest thing is, we didn't make the shots that usually allow us to get into our pressure (defense)," Carlson said. "We thought we could give them some problems inside and pressure their guards and hope to wear them down. But they were very good at taking care of the ball, didn't rush shots and made big ones at the end of the shot clock." SOU was initially shaky with the ball, turning it over six times in the first quarter as Marian staked to a 16-14 edge. The Raiders ended their lowest-scoring first half of the season down 35-22 and without a point from their bench, which had provided 98 up to that point in the tourney. Hasser-Smith's 3-of-4 effort from 3-point range sparked a 16-4 Marian run going into halftime. The Raiders were provided a window to climb back into the game in the third quarter as Marian missed 10 of its first 11 shots. Toria Bradford's steal to a fast-break layup and Tiani Bradford's 3 trimmed the lead to 35-27, and it was 38-31 after Durand's jumper with 3:57 left in the period. Nearly six minutes passed, however, before the SOU's next made basket. The Raiders hadn't trailed going into a fourth quarter since their win on Nov. 1 at U.C. Merced. The loss was their first in 59 days. "I just told them, once you step away, give it a week or two and everything they've accomplished this season, they're going to be so proud of," Carlson said. "We've got some heartbroken girls right now but it's a special, special group and has been a real honor for me to coach. "I also think that with the people we have coming back, you're going to see a very hungry team this spring and going into next fall." Claussen, the Cascade Conference Player of the Year, ended her career with 1,371 points and 522 assists, becoming the first SOU player to ever record at least 1,000 points and 500 assists. She also broke SOU's single-season record for 3-point makes with 100. Meister, a three-time All-CCC performer, finished up with 1,507 points and 826 rebounds, which both rank top-five in Raider history. Smeaton, meanwhile, exemplified the depth of SOU's all-around contributions this season: She came off the bench to register 103 points and 84 rebounds, higher totals than her first three seasons combined.