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Raider women tumble By BARRY POE for the Mail Tribune SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- For the second straight year, the top-seeded team won't be around for the culmination of the NAIA National Women's Basketball Championships. Central Methodist, the No. 16 seed, sidelined top-seeded Southern Oregon, 74-73, in a second-round game Friday at Sioux City Auditorium. The Eagles improved to 29-8 and advanced to the Elite Eight, knocking out the Raiders for the second year in a row. Central Methodist ousted SOU last season in the second round, 74-71. Friday's contest wasn't decided until Southern Oregon's Ali Richards missed a jumper at the buzzer. "For some reason, this team just doesn't seem to panic," said Central Methodist coach Mike Davis. "I don't know if they don't know how to, or what, but they just hang around and hang around, and eventually they're right there again." Becca Rogers, a 6-foot-1 junior, was one of three Central Methodist players in double figures with 16 points. Junior guard April Smith added 14 points, as did senior point guard Leigh Yarick. SOU had four players in double digits, led by senior post Denise Berry's 17 points. Senior guard Lindsay Taylor chipped in 14 points, while senior post Nada Janackovic had 11 and Caitlin Curran 10. Central Methodist led 47-41 at halftime, but SOU went on a 13-0 run to start the second half, surging in front, 54-47. "We just talked about how we had to put more pressure on them and do a better job of blocking out and rebounding and reducing their second-chance shots," said SOU coach Shirley Huyett. "I think we did a better job in the second half. "If we would have played like that in the first half, it could have been a different game." Southern Oregon stayed in front until the 4:30 mark, when Central Methodist's Joan Pauley made two free throws to give the Eagles a 68-67 lead. Berry answered with a layup, but Pauley gathered in a putback for Central Methodist. A 3-pointer by SOU's Lauren Mohan tied the score at 71-all with 1:25 remaining, but Rogers answered with a jumper in the lane to put the Eagles back in front with 52 seconds left. A free throw by Smith made it 74-71, but Richards answered for the Raiders with two charity tosses to bring SOU within 74-73 with 16 seconds left. Central Methodist turned the ball over on an errant pass, giving SOU one last chance at maintaining its NAIA title hopes. Richards, a 5-8 sophomore from Phoenix, got a good look at the hoop, but her jump shot bounced off the rim as the horn sounded. "I thought we played really hard," said Huyett. "We made a few uncharacteristic mistakes, but that tends to happen when you're playing under pressure." CENTRAL METHODIST (29-8) Fuka 1-2 1-2 3, Yarrick 4-10 4-8 14, Smith 4-9 3-414, J. Rogers 3-7 2-2 8, Chinn 1-5 0-0 2, Cutbirth 0-1 0-0 0, Pomajzl 2-4 0-0 4, B. Rogers 6-11 4-6 16, Thomas 2-7 2-2 6, Pauly 2-11 3-6 7. Totals: 25-67 19-30 74. SOUTHERN OREGON (27-5) Merritt 2-4 0-0 4, Mohan 1-1 1-2 4, Richards 1-3 2-2 4, England 1-1 2-2 4, Fisher 2-4 1-2 5, Janackovic 4-17 3-5 11, Curran 3-5 2-2 10, Berry 7-9 3-4 17, Taylor 5-11 0-0 14. Totals: 26-55 14-19 73. Halftime--C. Methodist 47, S. Oregon 41. 3-point goals--C. Methodist 5-13 (Fuka 0-1, Yarick 2-4, Smith 3-8), S. Oregon 7-15 (Mohan 1-1, Janackovic 0-2, Curran 2-4, Taylor 4-8). Rebounds--C. Methodist 42 (B. Rogers, J. Rogers 9), S. Oregon 38 (Janackovic, Taylor 9). Assists--C. Methodist 13 (Yarick 7), S. Oregon 21 (Richards 8). Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.