SOU-College of Idaho Boxscore 

The 14th-ranked College of Idaho women's basketball team used a 9-2 run to start overtime to score a 97-88 over 22nd-ranked Southern Oregon tonight in the Cascade Conference Postseason Tournament semifinals in Caldwell, Idaho.

The Coyotes improved to 29-3 overall and advances to Monday's championship game against Concordia. Because Concordia won the Cascade Conference regular season title and with that earned one of the conference's automatic bids to the NAIA National Tournament, the Coyotes will receive the conference's other automatic bid.

SOU is now 25-6 and will have to wait until Wednesday's final Top 25 Poll is released to see if they are ranked high enough to earn one of 11 at-large bids.

The game turned into an epic battle between College of Idaho's Christon Vander Esch and SOU's Jacki Speer (Centralia, Wash./Centralia).

Vander Esch finished with a school record 39 points and 19 rebounds.

Speer finished with a career-high 35 points and 17 rebounds for her 22nd double-double of the season.

Whitney Scott (Tumwater, Wash./Black Hills) added 19 points for the Raiders, while Ashley Baker (Grand Junction, Colo./Fruita) had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Rhiannon Dickison (Redding, Calif./Anderson) finished with 11 points.

After leading 43-36 at the half, the Coyotes pushed the lead to 14 twice in the first four minutes of the second half before the Raiders came storming back.

Southern Oregon took their first lead of the second half on Krystal Smith (Olympia, Wash./River Ridge)'s free throw with 5:47 to play to make it 69-68. Speer then got her 30th point of the game on a layup to push the lead to 71-68 and cap an 8-0 Raider run.

Vander Esch gave the Coyotes the lead again at 72-71 before Speer tied it at 72-72.

Lindsey Scheffler (Castle Rock, Wash./Toutle Lake) came off the bench to tie the game again at 74-74 with under three minutes to play.

After three empty possessions, Speer finally broke the dry spell for the Raiders with a basket and free throw with 1:04 to play to give SOU a 77-74 lead.

Dickison hit one of two free throws with 14 seconds left to give SOU a 78-75 lead.

But the Yotes wouldn't quit.

Vander Esch cut it to one with a put back with seven seconds left and Scott's two free throws gave SOU an 80-77 lead with four seconds left, but Nicole Gall hit a desperation 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.

The Coyotes then scored the first five points of overtime en route to a 9-2 run to take control of the game.

Gall finished with 17 points for the Coyotes.