Ashland, Ore. – The Northwest Christian women's basketball team fell short to Southern Oregon, 76-74, on a basket by the Raiders with less than two seconds remaining in the final period.
After trailing 31-40 at halftime, the Beacons were able to fight back and end the third quarter tied 58-58, as they outscored the Raiders 27-18 on 61% shooting from the field in the quarter. The Beacons led for the majority of the fourth quarter with their largest lead being six, yet NCU found themselves tied 74-74 with seven seconds remaining in the game. On the final possession of the game, SOU's Dominique Harding made a lay-in with two seconds remaining to win the game 76-74.
NCU Head Coach Chad Meadors stated, "Tonight was a chance to create a little separation at the top of the standings and we let that opportunity get away. We had trouble most of the game containing the drive. Defensively we raised our level of play in the 3rd quarter and Morgan came alive on the offensive end which changed the momentum. We had a chance in the 4th quarter, we needed to make one more play or make one less mistake."
Morgan McKinney led the Beacons (13-4, 7-2 CCC) with 19 points, four assists, and three rebounds while Aspen Slifka tailled 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. Kaylen Kamelamela added 11 points and six assists. The Beacon defense grabbed nine steals and six blocks as they forced 14 turnovers in the loss.
Dominique Harding led the Raiders (12-6, 8-3) with 28 points, four assists, and three rebounds on 11-15 shooting from the field and 5-7 from beyond the arc. Syd'Nee Fryer tallied a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds while Kami Walk added 10 points and seven rebounds. SOU outrebounded the Beacons 44-26 with 17 offensive rebounds.
Meadors said, "We are close to breaking through to be able to go on the road and win two games in hostile environments against the top teams in our conference. I am excited to see this team work to improve and raise their level of play. Tonight was just a bump in the road."
The Beacons will look to bounce back next week as they travel to Washington to take on Northwest University on Friday, January 24, at 5:30pm and The Evergreen State College on Saturday, January 25, at 5:30pm.
