ASHLAND – Another hot start enabled No. 4-ranked Southern Oregon to leave Northwest (Wash.) behind early in a 79-49 Cascade Conference victory Saturday at Lithia Motors Pavilion.
Bridgette McIntyre downed all five of her 3-pointers within the first nine minutes of action as the first-place Raiders (13-0 overall, 7-0 CCC) built a 22-4 lead and never looked back in their fourth consecutive 30-point win. She finished with 15 points and four rebounds, while her sister,
Meghan McIntyre, amassed 11 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals.
The Raiders have developed a habit of demoralizing opponents early since falling behind 16-0 in their comeback three weeks ago at Oregon Tech. After that night, they've taken first quarters by an average of 12 points.
Morgan Baird scored 10 of her 14 points in the second quarter, helping SOU go up 46-23 by halftime against the Eagles (4-9, 3-4).
Sierra Scheppele added eight points, hitting a pair of 3s off the bench.
Eliza DiGiulio and
Emma Schmerbach both shot 3-of-6 with six points, and Keely Wright chipped in five points and four steals.
Despite misfiring on 12 of their final 14 attempts from 3 – they were 9-of-27 overall downtown – the Raiders wrapped up at 46% from the field for the second day in a row. They've shot over 45% eight times in 13 games; they did so eight times in 33 games all of last season.
The Eagles also became their eighth opponent to hit at under 40% from the field, posting a 28% clip. Their top scorers, Kaleah Madeiros (16 points) and Kimberly Carrada Sanchez (12 points), went just 9-of-30 combined.
Bridgette McIntyre, despite deferring after her hot start, made four-plus 3-pointers for the fourth time in conference action and has hit at least half of her attempts in each of those instances. The junior is now 24-of-42 in CCC games.
SOU's winning streaks, dating back to last season, stretched to 27 consecutive regular season games and 21 consecutive CCC games.
The Raiders are back on the road next weekend, traveling to Portland to face Multnomah and Warner Pacific. They return home Jan. 17, hosting No. 13 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) in a noon matchup.