ASHLAND – The No. 16-ranked Eastern Oregon women's basketball team seized control from the start and never let go in a 71-56 win against Southern Oregon on Friday evening at Lithia Motors Pavilion.

All-Cascade Conference junior guard Beverly Slater amassed team-highs of 16 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, pushing the Mountaineers (16-2, 11-1) to a wire-to-wire advantage in their sixth consecutive victory. They were up 23-7 after a first quarter in which they nudged the Raiders (13-5, 9-3) into 3-of-15 shooting and led by as many as 24 points early in the fourth.

SOU fell at home in CCC play for the first time in 16 outings.

Shaelie Burgess added 14 points and eight rebounds as EOU dominated inside, scoring 34 points in the paint and getting to the free-throw line for 26 attempts. The Mountaineers hit at 45 percent from the field and have now posted the two best shooting clips against SOU this season after converting at a 55-percent rate in their 67-54 win on Dec. 3 in La Grande.

Brie Holecek chipped in 11 points and Bayley Brennan shot 3-of-5 from downtown.

Emma Schmerbach led the Raiders with a season-high 18 points and got there efficiently on 12 field-goal attempts. Kami Walk had 12 points and seven rebounds, though SOU's four other starters combined to go 6-of-27.

The Raiders are in a three-way tie for third place with Oregon Tech heading into Saturday's 3 p.m. matchup with College of Idaho, which dropped to 5-7 with a 63-58 loss at OIT on Friday.