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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us December 6, 2004 No. 16-ranked Hawks topple SOU women again Holy Names still has Raiders' number By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings When the Raiders women's basketball team took on Holy Names in its season-opener on Nov. 5, the Hawks stuck it to Southern Oregon en route to a 20-point blowout win. A month later, the struggling Raiders put up a better fight against the 16th-ranked Hawks (7-2), before finally succumbing in a 76-64 loss. Andrew Mariman | Ashland Daily Tidings SOUTHERN OREGON SOPHOMORE FORWARD ANDI PETERSON glides over a Holy Names defender for a lay-up during women's basketball action Saturday night at McNeal Pavilion. Holy Names won the game, 76-64. Still, the difference in the SOU squad (1-8) was obvious. Shooting percentages jumped from a dismal 34 percent from the floor to 42 percent. The Raiders outscored Holy Names 39-36 in the second half. Southern kept pace with the tall Hawks on the boards, even though Holy Names maintained a 44-36 advantage there. "This time was way better," fourth-year Raider head coach Kevin Wilson said. "We're much improved." After the game Steve Spencer, the Hawks head coach, told Wilson how impressed he was with the Southern players. "He said, 'that's a whole different squad out there, meaning they played like they believed in you and believed in the system,'" Wilson said, recounting Spencer's remarks. "We've come a long way." Of course, there were still mistakes. The Raiders held the Hawks in a 2-all tie through the first three and a half minutes of play, then watched as Holy Names went on an 11-2 scoring push that carried through to a 40-25 halftime deficit. Southern shot 1-for-8 from beyond the arc and 58 percent from the free throw line. The Raiders had three players put up double-digit scoring efforts, but eight others scored four points or less. "It's hard to lose," said Chelsey Brock, SOU's junior transfer guard from Lane Community College. "But I think we've improved." Junior guard Courtney Bothum, a transfer from Chemeketa Community College, led the Raiders with 19 points. Bothum also recorded six rebounds, five assists and four steals in what Wilson called her "most complete game of the season." Sophomore forward Andi Peterson had 13 points and five rebounds, while freshman forward Krista Meeks came off the bench to contribute 10 points and seven boards. "We're like a whole different team," said Kailee Short, a junior center transfer from Lane Community College. "We've gotten used to playing together." The Hawks were paced by 22 points and 11 rebounds from junior forward Devina Brooks. Senior forward Natalia Jones and junior forward Tiana Davis each had 12 in the win. Optimism Getting hit with their eighth loss by the first week of December is not the start the Southern players wanted to have, but the Raiders are taking it in stride. "It's only frustrating if you let it be frustrating," Short said. "We know what we have to do." Wilson is known for scheduling the best opponents he can find, theorizing that playing better-skilled teams will make his squad stronger in the long run. A month into the season, the Raider players feel like the strategy is working. "We've been playing tough teams and it's making us tougher," Brock said. "It's starting to mold." With Cascade Conference play kicking off in less than two weeks, SOU just needs to work out the kinks to be competitive with the rest of the league. "We need to learn how to go from the first to the end," Wilson said. "We just have to keep working on it." DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams