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SOU women aiming for higher seed By Rich Rosenthal For The Tidings The Southern Oregon University women's basketball team clinched the school's fourth Cascade Conference championship over the past six seasons by winning 15 of its first 16 league contests, and even though an automatic berth to next month's NAIA Division II Tournament is already in hand, second-year head coach Kevin Wilson says this weekend's regular-season finales at Western Baptist and Concordia are far from meaningless. Wilson contends that in order for 22nd-ranked SOU (18-8) to be one of the top seeds at the 32-team national tournament, his Raiders must keep winning, regardless of site or circumstance. Southern's hopes to avoid last year's one-and-done national tourney performance are augmented by a 13-1 record in the new calendar year, including nine straight home wins. In fact, SOU is a stellar 26-3 in January and February contests over the past two seasons. Another 2-0 conference weekend effort will be a difficult task, as WBC (13-13) and CU (10-17) have posted a combined five victories (in 11 meetings) against Southern dating back to 2001. Regardless of the outcome, Southern will host the No. 8 league finisher (currently Warner Pacific) in the Cascade Conference tournament quarterfinals on Feb. 25 and will have home court advantage throughout the eight-team fracas that culminates on March 3. *** Some big-time numbers and the league title makes Sara Marks a leading candidate for Cascade Conference MVP status in balloting conducted by circuit head coaches this week. The 5-foot-6 floor general's 2002-03 credentials will be difficult to overlook: 17.1 season scoring and 5.5 assist averages that rank No. 2 in the 10-team league and a loop-best 3.23 steal clip that is a pace that exceeds the school season record. Through 16 conference games, Marks, who finished No. 2 in league all-star voting last season, is averaging a whopping 19.1 points, 6.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 3.9 steals. Men's Basketball A 2-10 record over the past month has crystallized what the Southern Oregon University men's basketball team must accomplish this weekend in order to earn the school's fourth Cascade Conference playoff bid over the past five seasons. The ninth-place Raiders (8-20, 4-12) must defeat both seventh-place Western Baptist (9-18, 7-9) and 20th-ranked Concordia (18-8, 11-5) on the road in order to have any hope of extending the 2002-03 season into the eight-team conference tournament. Having dropped narrow decisions to both schools at McNeal Pavilion in January, the challenge is enhanced by SOU's 4-17 record on the respective home courts of the Willamette Valley institutions since 1993. Southern Oregon enters the week one victory behind Northwest College (12-17, 5-11) for the final playoff spot, but the Eagles, who host Cascade and Warner Pacific this weekend, hold the tie-breaker as a result of sweeping the season series. *** Although the team's overall record might jeopardize their chances for Cascade Conference all-star status, seniors Zac Olson and T.J. Caughell have posted impressive statistics. Olson, a shooting guard, ranks eighth in the league with a 17.3 season average, and his 484 points is the most for a Raider since Ryan Harbert collected 559 in 1996-97. Caughell, a three-year standout, has already moved into second-place on SOU's career list for assists (297), including this season's 122 - the most since honorable mention All-American Don Guy's 154 in 1998-99. Women's Tennis The Southern Oregon University women's tennis team seeks to add to a win streak when it hosts Shasta College at the McNeal Hall courts Thursday afternoon. The Raiders opened the 2003 season with a pair of wins over the weekend and enter this week's lone event nursing a four-dual streak and a 13-0 all-time mark against the Northern California school since 1969. Southern is 14-1-1 at home dating back to 1994 and is 50-11-1 in head coach Gail Patton's five-year tenure. Track & Field The three-time defending Cascade Conference champion Southern Oregon University track and field team pulls the factory seal off the 2003 season this Saturday at Raider Stadium when it hosts the annual SOU Mini-Meet. Field events begin at 11 a.m. and the foot races are slated for 1 p.m. in the intrasquad meet that is open to high school, college and master's competitors. Southern Oregon returns 19 letterwinners from last year's squad, including All-Americans Jeff Bentley (javelin) and Megan Heuberger (400 hurdles). Heuberger and junior Andrea Eide participated on the school's first-ever All-American relay team, while junior Sean Peterson, the school's first conference distance champion, returns to defend his 1,500-meter crown. The men's team received an infusion of talent from Grants Pass in the form of North Valley High stars Travis Wheeler, the 2002 Class 3A state discus champion and Ken Hiler, the state runner-up in the intermediate hurdles. Siuslaw High distance all-stater Hadley Roe is the top women's newcomer. The Raiders begin the season in earnest on March 1 when it hosts the Artie Sullivan Memorial. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -