No. 2-ranked SOU starts postseason with drubbing of Evergreen
Published 7:59 pm Thursday, February 27, 2025
- Southern Oregon came up with 13 steals and capitalized on 19 turnovers by Evergreen (Wash.) during Wednesday's win in Ashland. Phot by Al Case / Ashland Daily
ASHLAND — Hours after moving up to No. 2 in the final NAIA Top 25 poll, Southern Oregon came out of the gates swinging in the Cascade Conference Championships and eliminated Evergreen (Wash.), 77-44, in a quarterfinal matchup Wednesday night at Lithia Motors Pavilion.
The top-seeded Raiders began their tournament title defense by scoring the first 16 points of the first quarter and the first 15 of the fourth. There were murky moments scattered in between, but not nearly enough to threaten their perfect 29-0 record.
SOU advanced to the semifinal round for the 11th time in the last 12 postseasons and will host No. 5 seed College of Idaho at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Yotes won on Eastern Oregon’s home court, 60-53, to reach the semis for the first time in six years.
Senior forward Morgan Baird led the Raiders with 18 points, 15 of which she scored during those quarter-opening runs. Bridgette McIntyre continued her hot shooting on the perimeter, going 5-of-8 from 3 with 17 points, a season-high nine rebounds and three assists. Emma Schmerbach added another well-rounded effort with 16 points, five boards and two steals.
Despite their fast start, 14 turnovers prevented the Raiders from slamming the door. Back-to-back Geoducks 3-pointers to start the second half had their lead down to 39-31.
That was as close as it’d get. Beginning at the 3:25 mark of the third quarter, SOU went nearly 11 full minutes without surrendering a point.
The Raiders wrapped up at 47% from the field, including 9-of-19 accuracy beyond the arc, and kept the Geoducks at 25%.
Mikail Montez accumulated 12 points and 12 boards for Evergreen. She went 3-of-6 from 3 but missed all eight of her attempts inside the arc. As a team, the Geoducks shot a paltry 7-of-33 on their two-point tries.
Williams helped stop them inside with two blocks, and Clara Robbins had two more.
The matchup with College of Idaho presented challenges for the Raiders during the regular season. They hung on for a 65-55 nearly three months ago in Caldwell, but had to overcome a 15-point deficit to win 58-51 on Jan. 25 in Ashland.
Oregon Tech hosts Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) in the other semifinal. The winners will move on to Tuesday’s championship game.
