Box Score BOX SCORE

ASHLAND – Southern Oregon held Holy Names to less than 25 percent shooting in the second half as the Raiders pulled away to a 75-61 non-conference victory over the Hawks in the SOU Season Opening Classic women's basketball tournament Friday night at Bob Riehm Arena.

Southern Oregon opens the season with a 1-0 record following the win, while Holy Names falls to 0-1 to start the season. Both teams return to action tomorrow during the second day of the tournament, with Holy Names facing Northwest Christian at 5 p.m. and the Raiders scheduled to play Great Falls at 7 p.m.

The opening half was a struggle for both teams, as each squad finished with an identical 29.4 percent shooting mark (10-of-34) and combined for 34 turnovers in the opening period. Midway through the half the Hawks looked to be taking control, as a Danika Potestio jumper triggered a 14-4 run that gave the visitors a 24-17 lead with just under six minutes to play in the half.

A pair of free throws for RaTanya Newsome (Tucson, Ariz./Tucson) ended the HNU run and sparked a 12-point SOU streak that gave the Raiders a five-point lead at 29-24 with 2:34 remaining before halftime. A Krysten Copeland (Rohnert Park, Calif./Santa Rosa High School) layup with just over a minute to play gave SOU a six-point advantage, and the Raiders led 35-31 at the break.

Holy Names scored the first points of the second half on Yesenia Garzon's layup, but the Hawks would not score for nearly five minutes after that as the Raiders put together their second 12-0 run of the game to build a double-digit lead, 47-33 with 15:01 remaining in the contest.

The visitors chipped away at the SOU lead, pulling within nine points at 49-40 a few minutes later, but the Raiders responded to stretch the lead to a game-high 17 points at 60-43 on a Josi McDermott (Ashland, Ore./Ashland) jumper with 8:51 to play. Although the Hawks again pulled within single-digits on Sarah Kliewer's layup with 4:28 to play, the Raiders never allowed the visitors to come closer than nine points back as they held on for the 14-point season-opening victory.

McDermott finished with a double-double, scoring a game-high 18 points and leading the team with 10 rebounds. Copeland and Haley Newell (Santa Monica, Calif./) scored 13 for the Raiders, and Newsome added 11 in the win. Antonette Capili led Holy Names with 15 points, while Soulijah Evans scored 11 and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and Garzon added 10 boards for the Hawks.