KIRKLAND, Wash. – The Southern Oregon women's basketball team returned to full strength and first-place form Sunday afternoon at Kirsti Brodin Pavilion, overwhelming Northwest (Wash.) defensively in a 72-54 win.
The Raiders, who are forcing the eighth-most turnovers in the NAIA this season, caused the Eagles to cough up 34, the highest total for a Cascade Conference SOU opponent in four years. They had a 33-11 advantage in points off turnovers, neutralizing NU's stellar 51-percent shooting from the field.
Seven different Raiders came up with multiple steals.
Dominique Harding tallied 13 points and a team-high six steals,
Kalei Iwami shot 5-of-7 with three 3-pointers, 13 points and three steals, and
Syd'Nee Fryer went for 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
A day after sitting out a 56-47 setback at Evergreen (Wash.) that ended SOU's winning streak at 10 games, sophomore forward
Kami Walk came off the bench to contribute 14 points, four rebounds and four steals.
The Raiders, on the road for the first time in conference play, went to 13-2 overall and 6-1 in the CCC. The Eagles, who also fell at home Saturday against Oregon Tech, dropped to 10-4 and 4-3.
An ugly start offensively put the Raiders down by four points after the first quarter, where they shot 3-of-15. They outscored NU 44-22 over the next two periods and shot 49 percent over the final three, including 7-of-13 accuracy from 3-point range.
Grace Meza scored a team-high 16 points for NU. She was also one of 10 Eagles with multiple turnovers.
The Raiders have kept eight of their last nine opponents under the 60-pont mark. They rank seventh in the country in points allowed per game (52.3).
Brianna Phiakhamngon added nine points, six assists and two steals. She also converted all four of her chances at the free-throw line, where SOU shot 14-of-15 collectively.
The Raiders are back home at noon Friday to face last-place Walla Walla (Wash.) and 3 p.m. Saturday to face Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), which stands in second place at 5-1 in the CCC.