EUGENE – Southern Oregon hit depth-challenged Bushnell with a fourth-quarter storm for the second time in as many matchups, keeping pace in the Cascade Conference title race and its winning streak intact with a 64-56 triumph Friday at the Morse Center.
The No. 22-ranked Raiders (21-4 overall, 17-2 CCC) picked up their 11th consecutive victory – and seventh straight on the road – by turning around a 48-44 deficit at the eight-minute mark with a 15-1 run that brought them inside the final minute. Four weeks ago, against the same Beacons (15-10, 11-8), they trailed by eight in the fourth before unleashing a 25-4 rally.
Kami Walk scored 11 of her team-high 19 points in the second half.
Izzy Hernandez drilled all three of her 3-pointers in the first to finish with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and
Meghan McIntyre poured in 12 points, five assists, four steals and four rebounds.
Mallory Williams made a pair of 3s, and her second broke a tie while putting the Raiders up for good with 5:20 remaining. The run continued with buckets from Hernandez and McIntyre and free throws from Walk and
Emma Schmerbach. As SOU constructed its push, the Beacons missed seven consecutive field-goal attempts and threw in five turnovers.
Schmerbach accentuated the lopsided bench play with eight points, eight rebounds and two steals. The Beacons – who needed 35-plus minutes from all five starters and got 15 total minutes from their two reserves – were led by Aspen Slifka's 22 points and 10 rebounds, but she was held to a single free throw in the final quarter.
The Raiders' winning streak is their longest since the 2017-18 season. If they win Saturday's 3 p.m. matchup with Corban, they'll own the longest CCC road winning streak in team history.
With three regular-season games remaining, they remain one game behind first-place Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and one up on third-place Oregon Tech.