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SATURDAY December 6, 2003 - Subscribe - Contact Us Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels November 20, 2003 Tough preseason continues for SOU men By Rich Rosenthal Tidings Correspondent For the second time in three weeks, the Southern Oregon University men's basketball team heads to Miles Court on the campus of the Oregon Institute of Technology in sunny, scenic Klamath Falls. The 2-1 Raiders, who snapped a five-year, 12-game losing streak on OIT's home court Nov. 7-8 with routs of San Jose Christian and West Coast Baptist, will have a much more difficult task in this weekend's Owl Crossover Classic against defending NAIA Division I champion Concordia, Calif. (tonight), perennial NAIA power Westmont (Friday) and California Pacific Conference luminary Notre Dame de Namur (Saturday). Concordia is SOU's second consecutive nationally top-rated foe, and the Raiders hope for a better fate than last Saturday's 115-59 drubbing at the hands of NCAA Div. II powerhouse Humboldt State. Despite the school's most lopsided setback since 1996, the Raiders are averaging 83 points per contest so far this season with four players in double-digits for scoring: sophomore forward Jared Abell (18.0), sophomore forward Shea Washington (16.7), freshman swingman Jay Mayernik (13.0) and sophomore post Gabe Burchfiel (10.5). Thurston High products Mayernik and Washington spearheaded the Raider attack with 13 points each in the loss to the Lumberjacks, while Mayernik led all players with 11 rebounds in his first collegiate contest. Southern caps the seven-game season-opening road spell with a payday at Portland State on Nov. 25 prior to hosting Willamette and Western Oregon in the annual Flagship Classic at McNeal Pavilion on Nov. 28-29. Women's Basketball The Southern Oregon University women's basketball team discovers whether two weeks of spirited practices and intensive conditioning will change Raider 2003-04 early season fortunes this weekend when the squad travels to Chico State's annual Coslet Classic. Southern, which dropped its season-openers to eighth-ranked Holy Names and unranked Dominican by a combined 83 points on Nov. 7-8, tangles with the NCAA Division II host Wildcats Friday night followed by a Saturday clash against fellow NAIA Div. II rival Cal State-Monterey Bay. The Raiders, who practiced with only eight healthy players late last week due to injuries to junior forward Robyn Ward, who will miss at least a month with a broken ankle, sophomore guard Stacy Ermini (back) and junior forward Emily Brough (ankle). Three other players - forwards Kristina Matchett, Lindsey Aitchison and Nicholette LeBel - are currently competing on the Raider volleyball squad. Since dominating Chico and winning its tournament four times in the 1990s, the Raiders have lost four straight against the Wildcats, including a 83-74 setback last November. SOU and Monterey's Otters have never met in women's hoops. Southern, which is in the midst of a six-game road trek leading up to its home Cascade Conference openers on Dec. 17-18, is led by junior transfer guard Camille Porter, who has 21 points and six steals thus far, while freshman post Sara Beyer is averaging a team-best 6.5 rebounds. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Road Cams