Box Score

ASHLAND, Ore. - Four free throws by Chelsey Christensen in the final 15 seconds sealed the deal for Warner Pacific as the visiting Knights knocked off Southern Oregon 85-80 in Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball action Friday night at Bob Riehm Arena.

Warner Pacific improves to 13-8 overall and 8-3 in conference play, while Southern Oregon falls to 15-8 overall and 5-7 in the CCC. Both teams return to action Saturday, with the Raiders hosting Concordia and the Knights traveling to Klamath Falls to take on Oregon Tech at 5:30 p.m.

Melissa Sweat led all players with 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Raiders. Alexi Smith tallied 12 points, Angelica Cahee added 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Carly Meister finished with 10 points in the loss.

Christensen's 21 points led a group of five Knights who reached double figures. Tori Carroll tallied eight points and tied Christensen with eight rebounds, while Nichole Jackson and KayLee Engen each finished with 15 points. Morgan Wolff totaled 13 points and Jackson finished one assist shy of a double-double with nine assists.

Warner Pacific shot an even 50 percent from the field (35-of-70), while Southern Oregon shot 45.6 percent (31-of-68) in the game. The Knights connected on 57.6 percent (19-of-33) of their shots in the opening period while limiting SOU to 39.4 percent shooting (13-of-33) before the break, helping WPC build a seven-point halftime lead. Southern Oregon out-rebounded WPC 43-36, but the Knights finished with a +6 turnover advantage at 24-18.

The game featured seven tie scores and 10 lead changes, although all 10 came in the first half of play. Southern Oregon took its largest lead of the game in the opening minutes when a pair of Cahee free throws put the Raiders up 8-4. A three-pointer by Wolff followed by a basket by Engen wiped away that advantage, and the Knights would go on to lead by as many as nine points before taking a 41-34 lead into halftime.

Southern Oregon scored the first six points of the second half on consecutive layups by Smith, Ashley Claussen and Cahee to pull within one, but Warner Pacific eventually worked its lead back up to eight when Carroll hit a three-pointer to make it 54-46. Gida made a layup on the Raiders' next possession to spark a 13-5 run that tied it up at 59-59 with 10:44 to play.

Warner Pacific again tried to pull away a few minutes later with a six-point streak, but the Raiders battled back to tie it up on a three-point play by Meister with just under two minutes to go. Jacki Cannon made a layup a few seconds later to put the Knights back up by two, and the Knights held on to the lead the rest of the way.

Southern Oregon's last effort came in the final 10 seconds when Sweat hit a long three-pointer to make it 83-80, but Christensen made both free throws on the Knights' next possession to clinch the five-point win and the season sweep for Warner Pacific.


Story courtesy of Southern Oregon Sports Information