EUGENE – A big comeback on the road against the defending Cascade Conference champions gave Southern Oregon's own title hopes a considerable boost Saturday afternoon.

The Raiders trailed Bushnell by as many as 11 points in the first half before rallying for a 72-66 win at the Morse Center, knocking off a Beacons team that had entered the matchup just a half-game behind them in the standings and forcing a first-place tie with Lewis-Clark State (Idaho).

Kami Walk turned in her second straight double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds and Kalei Iwami enjoyed her second explosive quarter in as many night to flip SOU's fortunes. Iwami – who scored 13 in the first quarter of Friday's win at Corban – totaled eight of her 13 in the third, where the Raiders (21-4, 14-3 CCC) outscored the Beacons (16-10, 13-5) 24-15 to take a five-point lead.

Their edge was trimmed to one point before Dominique Harding cushioned it with a jumper at the two-minutes mark. Bushnell came up empty on its next three possessions and SOU nailed down the outcome by making six straight free throws.

"I thought our team showed great toughness today," Raiders coach Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt said. "We got down early and they kept themselves in the fight. We had a great defensive effort in the second half and made some really key plays on the offensive end to win this game."

Syd'Nee Fryer contributed 10 points, six rebounds and three steals.

She also helped hold CCC Player of the Year Morgan McKinney to nine points. Aspen Slifka led the Beacons with 15.

The Raiders have another critical road tilt Tuesday at fifth-place Oregon Tech. They also have a matchup looming on Feb. 18 at LC State, which earned its share of first place Saturday by knocking off Eastern Oregon.