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Mohan unwraps shooting touch in Raiders' triumph By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN ASHLAND -- Lauren Mohan -- the birthday girl -- was a bumbling, stumbling mess in the first half. But in the final 20 minutes, Mohan did what she does best for Southern Oregon University's 19th-ranked women's basketball team. She shot the ball with deadly accuracy. The 5-foot-10 senior wing from Crook County High celebrated her 22nd birthday by scoring 16 of her team-high 19 points in the second half of a 73-54 win over No. 20 Albertson College Saturday night at McNeal Pavilion. "Early in the game, I missed a couple of layups and I actually kicked the ball away one time," said Mohan. "I guess I was a little uptight. Some of my friends were telling me to score 22 points on my 22nd birthday." With only three points and two turnovers at halftime, Mohan said she refocused and tried to get her offense going. "I relaxed and started to get into the groove in the second half," said Mohan. "I was very glad to see them (the Coyotes) go to a zone defense in the second half. They were trying to guard the post better and it left me open on the outside." Mohan made three shots from 3-point range and converted two free throws during the opening 3 minutes and 29 seconds of the second half. She added a fastbreak layup with 14:18 left in the game to give her 13 points in less than six minutes of the second half as the Raiders streaked to a 46-25 lead. Mohan added a layup with 7:23 left as the Raiders kept their lead comfortable at 55-36. But Albertson scored 10 straight points to cut the SOU lead to 57-48 with 2:14 remaining. The Coyotes then went to a fouling mode to try to cut deeper into the SOU lead. But SOU converted 16 of 19 free throws in the final 2:10 to not only protect, but build on, its lead. "It was nice to see us make our free throws under pressure in the last two minutes," said SOU coach Shirley Huyett. "That's a good sign for us." The Raiders improved their Cascade Conference record to 3-2 and moved to 11-8 overall. The win eased the sting of a 74-52 loss to third-ranked Northwest Nazarene last Thursday night at McNeal Pavilion. "This was a lot better tonight," said Huyett. "We came out and played good defense at the start. We played 30 to 35 minutes of good defense tonight instead of about 15 or 16 minutes like Thursday night." Albertson 12-5 and 2-1. Forward Melissa England, the other sharp-shooting wing in SOU's starting lineup, had 14 points. Guard Liz Bresnan added 10 and Ali Richards of Phoenix and Monica Fisher both finished with eight points. Richards, a junior point guard, had eight assists. Emily Wiley, a 6-1 freshman from Crater High who has taken over as SOU's starting center, had five points and seven rebounds. Wiley moved into the lineup when a knee injury ended junior Sarah Petersen's season. "Emily played well and got some big rebounds," said Huyett. "Our wings shot the ball well, and I thought Liz Bresnan played well overall. Ali played a real solid game at the point." ALBERTSON (12-5) Bates 10, Sloan 7, Wornell 3, Thompson 7, Pincock 21, Birch 0, Hammar 4, Paulson 0, Campbell 2, Hendrichs 2. Totals: 14-60 23-26 54. SOUTHERN OREGON (73) Mohan 19, Richard s 8, England 14, Fisher 8, Wiley 5, Nunley 2, Tangendahl 3, Bresnan 10, Merritt 2, Magee-Arick 2, Stanford 0. Totals: 21-62 26-39 73. Halftime -- Southern Oregon 32, Albertson 22. 3-point goals -- Albertson 3-15 (Bates 1, Sloan 1, Thompson 1), Southern Oregon 5-12 (Mohan 3, England 1, Bresnan 1). Rebounds -- Albertson 51 (Pincock 14), Southern Oregon 47 (Fisher 9). Assists -- Albertson 12 (Wornell, Pincock, Birch 3), Southern Oregon 15 (Richards 8). Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, OR U.S.A.