ASHLAND, Ore. – Southern Oregon led by as many as 22 points on Saturday and held off a late College of Idaho rally to win 76-65 in Cascade Conference action inside the Lithia Motors Pavilion.
Three players scored in double-figures for the Yotes (4-9, 2-2 CCC) in the loss, led by
Emily Harwood, who poured in 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Harwood also grabbed eight rebounds and snagged two steals.
Mackenzie Royce-Radford added 12 points, five assists and two steals for C of I, with
Sophia Jackson chipping in a personal season-high with 10 points.
Tayla Sayer and
Lexi Mitchell each had strong efforts on the glass with six rebounds for the Yotes.
The Raiders (6-5, 2-2 CCC) were opportunistic off of turnovers, scoring 25 points off 21 turnovers. Dominique Harding paced SOU with 18 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. Daranda Hinkey had 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from downtown and Bryanna Raff posted 10 points and four rebounds.
Trailing 61-44 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Yotes didn't go away, bringing the score to as close as 67-61 on a Harwood basket with 2:50 left. The Raiders didn't allow C of I to get any closer than that the rest of the way, with two Harding baskets in the next 1:15 extending the lead back out to 10 points.
C of I shot 25-of-66 (38 percent) from the floor and 6-of-31 (19 percent) on 3-pointers. SOU finished 31-of-57 (54 percent) on their field goals, with a 6-of-18 (33 percent) effort on tries from downtown.
The Yotes have a week off before returning to the J.A. Albertson Activities Center on Jan. 3-4 for conference games against Corban and Northwest Christian.
