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THURSDAY February 5, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels December 18, 2003 Raiders halt skid in big way SOU women run all over Concordia to grab league-opening victory By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings It's important to remember the Raider women's basketball team still reigns as Cascade Conference champions. Sure, the preseason roughed the team up a bit, but Wednesday night in McNeal Pavilion, the Southern Oregon women staked their share of first place in the conference, burying Concordia University 73-54 to open league play. "We're starting a new season tonight and we're in first place," third-year head coach Kevin Wilson said. "This is the second season and, until someone knocks us off, we're still the defending conference champs." Using its semi-break offense, Southern (2-5) literally ran away from the Cavaliers (2-9) and made the first step in erasing the memories of the team's worst start since 2000-01. "It's a huge win for the team's confidence, for them to believe in themselves," Wilson said. "That's what people look at - records - and everybody panics. I'm just real excited for the young kids and the new team." It looked like a steal After battling through a half-dozen ties, senior Raider guard Lindsey Hilaire drilled a 3-point bomb with just under 10 minutes left in the first half to break a 15-all tie. The Raiders bolstered their lead to eight, at 26-18, but the Cavaliers were still in the game. "It was a chess match, that first half," Wilson said. "We were nervous. Both teams were just feeling each other out." While Southern hung back on the perimeter, attempting 12 3-pointers and not driving to the basket, the Cavs muscled their way under the rim to draw fouls. Concordia went to the line for nine free throw attempts in the first half, sinking seven. Meanwhile, the Raiders were shut out from the free throw line. The first 20 minutes expired with Southern clinging to a meager four-point lead. Change it around "We weren't attacking under the basket and they were," Wilson said of his team's play in the first half. "In the second half, we were able to turn it up." But before the Raiders revved things up, Concordia continued to find holes in the Southern defense, eroding the Raiders' lead in the process. The Cavs went on a 8-2 run to open the second half and take control of the game at 33-32. It wouldn't last. Almost three minutes into the final stanza, sophomore forward Emily Brough grabbed a feed from sophomore forward Stephanie Combes to score under the basket and give the Raiders the lead for good. With just over 15 minutes left in the game, Combes took her turn scoring, lobbing in a 3-pointer just before Wilson called time-out. The stoppage of play proved to be exactly what Southern needed to push past the Cavaliers. "We changed up the defense to take Katie Adkins out of the game," Wilson said. "We also moved a lot more. That was the difference as well." Adkins had scored seven points in the first five minutes of the second half after an eight-point first half. Following the timeout, the sophomore forward contributed just two more to Concordia's cause. Going for it By changing up the defense and pushing the ball more, the Raiders suddenly looked like the defending conference champions they are. Southern's shooting percentage jumped from 36 percent in the first half to a whopping 46 percent in the second and the Raiders out-rebounded the Cavs 31-14 in the final 20 minutes. "We were just a little less tired than they were," Wilson explained. "We came together as a team, especially with two players gone. You have to play like a team every night to win in this conference." Southern outscored Concordia 43-28 in the second half and climbed to its biggest lead - 29 points - when the buzzer signaled the end of the rout. "The key stat that we look at is obviously the score," Wilson said. "But beyond that we look at rebounds, assists and turnovers. Those categories are real important to us. The rebounding was just tremendous tonight." Junior transfer guard Camille Porter paced the Raiders with nine rebounds while junior forward Robyn Ward and junior center Lindsey Aitchison each added eight. Adkins led all players with the 13 boards for the Cavs. Hilaire tallied 17 points, including three 3-pointers, for the Raiders. Ward also threw in 13 for the red and black. Adkins mirrored Hilaire, scoring a team-high 17 points for Concordia, and Leigh-Anne Durham added 14. Moving up fast The win puts Southern in a four-way tie for first place in the conference, but match-ups this weekend should break up the top of the league. Tonight the Raiders will bet their immaculate conference record against Western Baptist in McNeal Pavilion. "It's a competitive new team, but there are going to be ups and downs this season," Wilson said. "They are young and every success helps." Dueling with Western Baptist should illustrate just how competitive the Raiders will be in conference play. The Warriors were picked No. 2 behind Oregon Tech in the league preseason poll, though Wilson believes they could be the top team in the Cascade Conference. "We really need to recuperate. They're the fastest team in the league," Wilson said. "We're going to slow the ball down a little bit. We're not ready to run with them yet." The game tips off at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's contest against Western Baptist at 7:30 p.m. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: A new improved archive search is coming! Look for it in mid-February! .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams