via Oregon Tech Athletic Communications
ASHLAND, Ore. – For the second time this season, Oregon Tech held a fourth quarter lead against rival Southern Oregon, but the No. 3-ranked Raiders found just enough offense late to top the upset-minded Lady Owls, 72-68, at Lithia Motors Pavilion.
SOU (26-0, 20-0 CCC) ran their regular-season win streak to 40, clinching the outright Cascade Conference title, while the Lady Owls can secure the No. 2-seed in the upcoming league tournament with a win in one of their final two games.
The Raiders built a 49-44 lead in the third quarter, but the Owls (20-6, 16-4) scored 14 of the next 16 points to regain the lead. Tatum Schmerbach scored inside twice, Alexis Elquist canned a pair of 3’s and Jozie Ramos added a lay-up in the flurry, giving Tech a 58-51 fourth quarter lead.
A Maddyson Tull second chance bucket gave the visitors a 64-61 with three minutes remaining, but SOU rattled off 8-straight points – with a Meghan McIntyre driving lay-up giving the Raiders the lead and Bridgette McIntyre canning a contested 25-footer to make it 69-64 with a minute left. OIT was unable to get closer than three points the rest of the night.
OIT started fast, as Ramos and Elquist each hit 3-pointers in a 12-2 first quarter run that gave the Owls a 19-10 lead – with Tech taking a 34-31 lead to the break. Morgan Baird helped the SOU rally in the third quarter, scoring six of her game-high 24 points in a 16-6 run early in the period to give the hosts a lead – setting up the see-saw finish.
Ramos had a huge night for the Lady Owls, scoring 20 points with 12 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Elquist scored 15, with Schmerbach and Tull each adding 11.
Meghan McIntyre had 16 points in the win for SOU, with Eliza DiGiulio scoring 11 off the bench, including two key second half 3-pointers.
Tech closes out the home regular-season this weekend, hosting Multnomah on Friday and Warner Pacific on Saturday.
