ASHLAND, Ore.  – The Northwest Christian University offense remained cold for the second straight night, only this time the defense couldn't balance the contest in an 84-53 loss to No. 13 Southern Oregon University. Raider head coach Lynn Kennedy, an NCU alumnus, picked up his 200th career victory against the school where he played basketball from 1990-1992.
 
The Raiders avenge the 95-92 Beacon victory from earlier this month in Eugene. SOU pulled away in the latter stages of the first half, turning an 18-15 lead into a 44-29 advantage at halftime. Southern Oregon led by as many as 39 points in the second half, but the Beacons closed the game on an 8-0 run, including four points from senior Mindy Smith (pictured), to give SOU their 31-point victory.
 
NCU (9-12, 5-8) was led by Hannah Frederick, scoring 9 points. It was the second time this season that the Beacons leading scorer was held under ten points. Melyssa Weber added eight points while Smith and Andrea Gloss scored six points apiece. The Beacons shot 27% in the game including a 3-for-25 effort on three-point attempts.
 
Southern Oregon (19-3, 10-3) shot 44% in the contest and out-rebounded the Beacons 57-38. Four players scored in double-figures led by 14 from Alexi Smith. Ashley Claussen, Carly Meister, and Courtney West added ten points each.  
 
With the loss, the Beacons drop into a tie for seventh-place with The College of Idaho. At 5-8 in conference, however, NCU is just a game and a half out of fourth place and with five games remaining in the regular season, nothing has been decided.
 
Northwest Christian returns to Eugene for their final homestand this weekend, beginning with ninth-place Warner Pacific (10-14, 3-9) on Friday night. Saturday will be senior night, featuring a clash with Concordia (11-10, 5-7) who currently sits a half-game ahead of the Beacons in sixth place. Both games will tip-off at 5:30 p.m.