LA GRANDE – Southern Oregon had Eastern Oregon on the ropes, but the Mountaineers extended their home winning streak to 32 games with an 11-2 run in the final minutes that led to a 66-63 victory in the Cascade Conference opener for both teams Friday night at Quinn Coliseum.

Ariel Augustine's baseline jumper with five minutes left put the Raiders (4-3 overall) ahead 59-55 with five minutes left before the lead began to evaporate. Still up 60-57, EOU's Jane Nelson stepped into the passing lane and took a steal all the way for a layup, and the 17th-ranked Mountaineers got a defensive stop that led to Maren Herrud's two free throws and swung the advantage.

After another stop, Herrud delivered the biggest shot of the night – an open 3-pointer from the wing that made it 64-60 with 1:37 left.

Thanks to an Ariel Augustine steal with 12 seconds left, the Raiders had a shot to tie, but Dominique Harding's 3-pointer rimmed off.

The Mountaineers (5-2) prevailed despite a 22-12 disparity in turnovers and giving up 19 offensive rebounds. They shot 49 percent from the field (25-of-51) and 9-of-16 from 3. Nelson made all four of her tries from behind the arc to score 20 points, and Herrud hit 2-of-4 from the bench to total 16 points and four assists.

SOU point guard Daranda Hinkey scored a season-high 16 points, hitting three 3-pointers, and Augustine and Destinee Jones both added 11.

The Raiders went down 18-7 in the opening minutes but finished the first quarter on a 14-2 run, taking the lead on a Hinkey triple off the dribble. There were eight more lead changes the rest of the way.

Syd Fryer contributed nine rebounds and three steals for the Raiders and Kalei Iwami scored eight.

SOU will play at 4:30 p.m. PST Saturday at College of Idaho, which dropped its first CCC game against Oregon Tech.