Ashland, OR - The Northwest women's basketball team fall under the sword of Southern Oregon, 79-49.
It was a tough loss for the Eagles against the Owls in their previous game, but it wasn't going to get easier. The Raiders came in undefeated and ranked the number one team in the conference as well as ranked fourth in the NAIA. The young Eagles could not compete with their might.
From the jump, the Raiders took over and never gave up the lead. The Raiders outscored the Eagles 25-9 and shot for 52.9% compared to the Eagles' 17.6%. The Raiders also made a splash beyond the three-point line, nailing 53.8% of their threes, whereas the Eagles only made 16.7% of theirs.
The Eagles picked themselves up in the second to shoot for 33.3% and were able to hit a quarter of their threes. However, the Raiders' offense continued its conquest, shooting 44.4% and hitting five of seven free throws. This allowed the Raiders to outscore the Eagles, 21-14.
The Eagles in the third quarter struggled once again, only able to hit 29.4% of their shots and only made one of their ten three-pointers. The Raiders continued their relentless attack for 47.4% and made two of their three free throws. The Eagles did have a glimmer of positivity, though.
The fourth quarter was when the Eagles actually outshined the Raiders in terms of scoring, 15-13. Both teams made 33.3% of their shots, but the Eagles made it count in their threes, nailing 42.9% while the Raiders hit 28.6% of theirs. However, it just was not enough to keep up with the best team in the CCC.
Kaleah Medeiros locked in 16 points for the night, and Kimberly Carrada Sanchez followed up with 12 points.
"We felt today was such a better showcase of the effort it takes at a high level to compete against the best in the country," said Head Coach Randall Edens. "And SOU being ranked fourth [in the nation], you need to be on point. We liked a lot of things we did today, though we missed layups we normally make. I think our minimum count was 10 at 1 point, and that changed the entire game. We planted some seeds to grow with today."
