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Concordia, Neb. knocks Raiders out of the NAIA tournament SIOUX CITY, Iowa - The sun set on the Southern Oregon women's basketball team's season Thursday night, as Concordia (Neb.) stormed to a 71-55 victory in the first round of the NAIA Division II national tournament. The Raiders, who finish 19-11 for the seventh-best mark in program history, scored just 19 points in the first half - a season-low for a half - and trailed by as many as 24 in the second half. SOU pulled within 61-49 on junior post Kara Magee-Arick's turnaround jump shot with 6 minutes, 29 seconds remaining but could creep no closer. "They were physical with us, and we're not a physical team," said SOU first-year head coach Kevin Wilson, who enjoyed the most successful inaugural campaign for a SOU women's coach. "They really outboarded us by a ton (56-41)." The Raiders were led by 14 points from Magee-Arick, who came off the bench to also pull down six rebounds. Junior point guard Sara Marks, SOU's leading scorer at 17.4 points per game and a first-team all-Cascade Conference selection, was held to 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting. The Bulldogs (28-5), ranked and seeded ninth, implemented a pressure defense in harassing the unseeded Raiders into 31.9 percent shooting from the field. "We just could never get over the hump because we couldn't make shots," Wilson said. "We didn't have a good rhythm." Concordia, which had four players score between 10 and 12 points, enjoyed a mammoth advantage at the free-throw line, making 21 of 28 to SOU's 6-for-9. SOU senior forward Melissa Core closed her stellar career with eight points, five rebounds and two assists. A three-year starter, Core finishes second all-time at SOU in free-throw percentage, third in 3-pointers made and fourth in free-throws converted. The Raiders will also lose senior guard Tara Murphy, who energized SOU with six points and six rebounds off the bench in Thursday's loss. With 10 of the players on his 12-woman roster returning, Wilson should be armed to make another strong run next season. But that didn't make Thursday's defeat - which snapped winning streaks of four in a row and 13 of 15 - any less disappointing. "I told them not to let this diminish the fact that we had a great season," Wilson said. "We're one of the top 32 teams in the country, and I think we're closer to the top of that group than the bottom. "I think the thing they were most upset about is that this group won't be the same. They just didn't want to break apart; they didn't want it to end." SOUTHERN OREGON (19-11) Hilaire 1-8 0-0 2, Core 3-12 1-1 8, Tangedahl 2-4 0-0 4, Nunley 1-6 1-2 3, Marks 4-11 2-2 11, Beers 1-3 0-0 2, Dexter 1-8 0-0 2, Murphy 2-4 2-2 6, Magee-Arick 6-11 0-0 14, Dolezal 1-2 0-2 3. Totals 22-69 6-9 55. CONCORDIA (28-5) Ficken 3-8 3-4 11, Adams 1-7 1-2 3, Saving 2-9 2-2 7, Luehmann 1-3 4-4 6, Harrison 5-11 2-3 12, Mooney 2-5 4-4 10, Streuter 1-6 0-0 3, Rhodin 4-7 1-2 11, Kobza 0-2 0-0 0, Kirchner 1-4 4-7 6, Krenz 0-1 0-0 0, Laune 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-65 21-28 71. Halftime-Concordia 29, Southern Oregon 19. 3-point goals-SOU 5-20 (Hilaire 0-1, Core 1-7, Marks 1-3, Dexter 0-5, Magee-Arick 2-3, Dolezal 1-1), CU 8-23 (Ficken 2-5, Adams 0-2, Saving 1-4, Harrison 0-1, Mooney 2-3, Streuter 1-5, Rhodin 2-3). Rebounds-SOU 41 (Murphy 6, Magee-Arick 6), CU 56 (Harrison 9, Kirchner 9). Assists-SOU 7 (Core 2), CU 12 (Ficken 3, Adams 3). Turnovers-SOU 19, CU 22. Fouled out-Marks. Team fouls-SOU 23, CU 14. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.