Document text
Janackovic, Berry rally Raiders LAJOLLA, Calif. -- Second-ranked Southern Oregon got off on the wrong foot Wednesday night. Fortunately for SOU, seniors Nada Janackovic and Denise Berry were there to finally right the ship as the Raiders squeezed past UC San Diego, 73-69. Janackovic scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds and Berry added 21 points and eight rebounds as the Raiders were put to the test by the Division III Tritons. Southern Oregon scored the game's first basket, then stood helplessly as UC San Diego scored the next 15 points to take a commanding lead. "They were hitting all of their shots and we were turning the ball over and missing all of our shots," Southern Oregon coach Shirley Huyett said of the Triton surge. The Tritons increased their advantage to 19-3 before Janackovic and Berry helped the Raiders trim their deficit to 20-19 with a rally of their own. The two teams effectively traded baskets until SOU finally gained its first lead at 44-42 with 13 minutes to play. Undaunted, the Tritons scored nine straight points to reclaim the lead at 51-44. Clawing back once again behind the play of their senior duo, the Raiders finally gained the lead with five minutes to play and never relinquished en route to the challenging road victory. "What matters tonight is that we were able to make the long road trip and pick up the victory," Huyett said. "But we'll have to play better than we did tonight to come out with a win again Fresno Pacific, that's for sure." SOU will hit the road again Saturday to face the Sunbirds at 7 p.m. The Raiders then play host to Chico State on Dec. 30. Stevi Spaulding added nine points on 3 of 5 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc, while Lindsay Taylor chipped in six points. Despite those marks, Huyett said her team is still looking for someone to shoulder more of the scoring burden beyond Janackovic and Berry. "We've got people stepping up, but not consistently," the coach said. "We're not in a situation yet where we can say, `This is a person that's going to step up each night."' Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,