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SOU holds off Concordia By Jason Leavitt ASHLAND � Turns out the third time was a charm for the Southern Oregon Raiders women�s basketball team. After losing twice to Concordia University in the regular season, the Raiders held off the Cavaliers, 67-62, in the semifinals of the Cascade Conference playoffs. The Raiders next host Western Baptist for the conference championship. Western Baptist upset regular-season champion Albertson in the other semifinal. SOU and Western meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday at McNeal. Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Monday at McNeal Hall. They cost $8 for reserved seats, $5 for general admission and $1 for students. SOU defeated Western both times they played this season. Southern Oregon, ranked 25th in the country, had not lost to a conference opponent three times since the early 1990s and was intent on avoiding that against the Cavaliers. "Concordia is a great team," said SOU coach Shirley Huyett. "They beat us twice earlier in the season. We needed to play good defense tonight in order to win." Good defense is exactly what the Raiders played, led by senior guard Tiwana Merritt, who recorded six steals. Merritt also added 15 points and three assists to her game resume. Junior Melissa Core had a team-high 16 points and five assists. "We were doing everything great," said Core. "We stepped up on defense and picked it up offensively when we needed to." Neither team Both teams started rather slowly in the first half, each committing a number of turnovers. Concordia got two late free throws from Niecee Madrigal for a 29-25 halftime lead. "We went into halftime and just told ourselves we needed to do everything we were doing better," Core said. Concordia came out and opened a six-point lead in the second half before sophomore Jaime Stanford grabbed her own rebound and laid it in. Concordia�s Jenny Johnson responded with a short jumper, and later hit one from the outside to restock the Cavaliers� lead, but SOU senior guard Alison Richards went backdoor and laid it in to narrow the margin to 40-36. Concordia found itself over the foul limit with a full 13:35 remaining in the game, and the Raiders took advantage. Southern Oregon, which made 21 of 30 second-half foul shots, pulled into a 60-60 tie with 1:15 left. Richards was fouled and promptly hit her two free throws. At the other end, Stanford grabbed the rebound after an errant Concordia shot and made another free throw. Core was 12-for-16 from the line. "The whole team did something in order to win the game, whether it was on offense or defense or rebounding," said Core. "Our team is real determined right now. We lost some games that we should have won, but down the stretch we came together and won when we needed to," Huyett said. CONCORDIA (16-15) � Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Madrigal 9-17 7-7 25, Bridges 3-8 3-4 10, Hudson 3-7 1-2 7, Seyfert 0-5 0-0 0, Rosales 5-12 2-4 13, Grimm 0-1 0-0 0, Peterson 0-0 0-0 0, Tweedy 2-5 1-1 5, Stohl 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-56 14-18 62. SOUTHERN OREGON (16-13)� Merrit 6-17 1-2 15, Richards 4-12 4-6 12, Core 2-10 12-16 16, Standford 1-3 2-4 4, Petersen 4-8 0-0 8, Wiley 0-0 0-0 0, Hilaire 1-5 0-0 2, Magee-Arick 1-2 0-0 2, Tangedahl 1-5 2-3 4, Nunley 1-3 2-3 4. Totals: 21-65 23-34 67. Concordia..........................................29 33 � 62 Southern Oregon...............................25 42 � 67 Haltime score � Concordia 29, Southern Oregon 25. 3-Point goals � Concordia 2-6 (Bridges 1-1, Seyfert 0-1, Rosales 1-3, Grimm 0-1). Southern Oregon (2-9 (Merrit 2-5, Core 0-2, Hilaire 0-2). Total fouls � Concordia 27, Southern Oregon 18.Fouled out � Johnson. Rebounds � Concordia 37 (Hudson 11). Southern Oregon 48 (Tangedahl 10). Assists � Concordia 13 (Seyfert 4). Southern Oregon 17 (Core 5). Turnovers � Cocordia 20 (Madrigal 6). Southern Oregon 17 (Merritt 5, Richards 5, Core 5). Steals � Concordia 5 (Madrigal 1, Bridges 1, Hyudson 1, Seyfert 1, Rosales 1). Southern Oregon 11 (Merritt 6). Attendance � 500. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.