SEWARD, Neb. – The Southern Oregon women's basketball team wasted no time justifying its No. 10 ranking with a 70-68 win against No. 6 Dakota State (S.D.) on Friday afternoon at Friedrich Arena.
Raiders forward
Morgan Baird scored the go-ahead bucket with 42 seconds left, and Trojans guard Bria Wasmund missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer in the first game of the Cattle Classic and season-opener for both teams.
Meghan McIntyre, SOU's all-conference senior point guard, put up 14 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Baird, a senior transfer from Coquille, debuted with 14 points and five boards, and junior guard
Bridgette McIntyre logged 12 points with three 3-pointers and three assists in her first game as a Raider.
Meghan McIntyre got the Raiders off to a quick start with five points and four assists in the first quarter, where they took a 19-9 lead seven minutes in before watching DSU mount a 25-4 run. The teams went back and forth from there and were within six points of each other for the duration of the second half.
The Trojans got their first lead of the fourth on a Tabor Teel free throw that made it 67-66 with 53 seconds left. Out of a timeout, the Raiders fed Baird in the post and she went off the glass with her left hand to put them up for good.
They had a two-point lead and the ball with five seconds left, but Teel stole their inbounds pass and looked up the floor to Wasmund, whose potential game-winner rimmed off.
Lilli Mackley led the Trojans with 14 points and five assists, hitting 4-of-6 from deep. They knocked down 12 3-pointers as a team, but their 22 turnovers, which SOU turned into 24 points, were the difference.
The Raiders got strong contributions off the bench from junior forward
Eliza DiGiulio, who scored seven of her 10 points in the third quarter to help them reclaim the lead.
Emma Schmerbach went for seven points and four rebounds, shooting 3-of-4 from the field.
Sierra Scheppele chipped in two 3s and two steals.
SOU gets a shot at another upset Saturday against No. 5 Concordia (Neb.), the tournament host. Tipoff is scheduled for noon PDT.