ASHLAND – For the second time this season, the No. 3-ranked Southern Oregon women's basketball team found another gear when it needed to against No. 22 Oregon Tech. SOU's latest head-spinning finish ensured there will be no sharing of the Cascade Conference title.

A 72-68 win on Tuesday night at Lithia Motors Pavilion made the Raiders (26-0 overall, 20-0 CCC) outright champions with two regular-season games to spare. After falling behind by seven with seven minutes to go, they hit the final buzzer on a 21-10 run to keep their perfect record intact.

In a 64-64 game with 1:54 remaining, Meghan McIntyre drove down the middle of the lane and finished with her off hand to put SOU in front for the first time in the quarter. On the other end, Emma Schmerbach came up with a steal that preceded McIntyre finding her sister, Bridgette McIntyre, coming off a screen for a dagger 3-pointer.

Morgan Baird steadied the Raiders during some turbulent offensive times with 24 points and seven rebounds. Meghan McIntyre totaled 16 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Schmerbach stuffed the box score with eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.

The trio helped SOU overcome a monster performance by forward Jozie Ramos, who amassed 20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three blocks while helping the Owls to an early nine-point lead that put them in the fight for good.

It was a worthy follow-up to the teams' first matchup – a 65-58 SOU victory Dec. 14 in which the Raiders fell behind 16-0 and ended the game with 11 unanswered points.

Tuesday's win was their 40^th consecutive of the regular-season variety dating back to last season. They've won nine of their last 10 against the rival Owls (20-6, 16-4), who remain a game ahead of Lewis-Clark State in second place.

Eliza DiGiulio was integral to the comeback with 11 points and some clutch second-half buckets. She hit two go-ahead jumpers in the third quarter, and with 3:39 left in the fourth she nailed a 3 that cut SOU's deficit to 62-61.

Outside of a moot layup with two seconds left, the Raiders did not allow a field goal over the final three minutes.

They overcame a shaky shooting night – after entering the matchup with the NAIA's second-best 3-point percentage, they went 4-of-17 and misfired on all nine tries in the first half – by forcing 16 turnovers and only committing nine. They made the Owls cough the ball up four times over the final 2:21.

The Raiders will attempt to complete the first perfect regular season in team history this weekend, hosting Warner Pacific on Friday and Multnomah on Saturday. Only three teams previously have run the CCC regular-season table.