ASHLAND – Competitively, one of the top-billed matchups on the Cascade Conference schedule was a major letdown. As far as the Southern Oregon women's basketball team was concerned, it couldn't have gone any better.

The No. 21-ranked Raiders dismantled No. 18 Eastern Oregon by a score of 68-42 on Saturday at Lithia Motors Pavilion, marking their largest margin of victory in the series since 2001 and the Mountaineers' lowest point total since 2014.

In improving to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the CCC, SOU surged to a 14-2 lead less than six minutes into the game and limited EOU (4-2, 0-2) to two points in the second quarter to take a 32-13 halftime lead. The game didn't get any closer after the break, as the Raiders went up by as many as 30 in the third.

Defensively they rattled the Mountaineers, especially after All-American forward Beverly Slater departed early with an injury. Emma Schmerbach was the catalyst on that end with six steals and two blocked shots, and she turned her defense into offense with a season-high 16 points on 8-of-10 accuracy.

Clara Robbins finished with 14 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals, and Meghan McIntyre recorded 13 points, five assists and two steals. Kami Walk, who scored 28 in Friday's drubbing of College of Idaho, needed only to put up seven shots for the Raiders to secure another blowout victory. She had eight points, six rebounds and four assists.

The Mountaineers – who lost their CCC opener in the final seconds Friday at Oregon Tech – shot 24 percent from the field. They ended up with more turnovers (16) than made baskets (14).

The Raiders have gotten all five of their wins by 15-plus points, including two against NAIA Top 25 squads.

They'll play their final two nonconference games next weekend, visiting Menlo (Calif.) and Jessup (Calif.), before returning to CCC play Dec. 15-16 in Washington. They return home to face unbeaten Oregon Tech on Dec. 20.