LA GRANDE – A Sailor Liefke takeover stopped shorthanded Southern Oregon from stealing what would have been its most impressive win of the season Saturday in a battle for first place in the Cascade Conference against Eastern Oregon.

Liefke scored 32 points, including her team's last eight of the game, to lift the Mountaineers to a 68-65 win over SOU at Quinn Coliseum. They improved to 14-7 overall and 11-2 in the CCC, taking a one-game lead over the Raiders and Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) in the standings.

Despite the absences of injured starters Syd'Nee Fryer and Kami Walk – their leading scorers and rebounders – the Raiders (17-4, 10-3) trailed for just four minutes total and were up 58-52 after Danasia Allison sunk her fourth 3-pointer with eight minutes left.

The Mountaineers chipped away and finally tied the score with 2:23 to go before Brianna Phiakmangon gave the Raiders their final advantage with a runner in the lane at the two-minute mark. Liefke responded with a pull-up jumper for the tie, and following a defensive stop she weaved through traffic and connected on a floater in the lane.

The Raiders missed a potential go-ahead 3 with 13 seconds left and Liefke knocked down a pair of free throws to push the lead to four. She put an exclamation mark on the performance with a steal on SOU's ensuing possession, going coast-to-coast for a layup.

Liefke, a junior guard, finished 12-of-18 from the field and 5-of-10 from downtown. She scored 20 of EOU's 32 in the first half, keeping SOU's halftime lead at seven.

Allison stepped up for the Raiders with a career-high 16 points, four rebounds and two steals. She shot 4-of-6 from 3; she'd only hit four triples all season before the outburst.

Phiakmangon matched Allison with 16 points and four assists of her own, and Clara Robbins shot 6-of-10 to record 12 points and eight rebounds. Dominique Harding scored nine and Kenadee Honaker added three first-half buckets.

The Raiders – who won their first matchup with EOU, 55-47 – return home next week, playing Northwest (Wash.) on Friday and Evergreen (Wash.) on Saturday.