KLAMATH FALLS — Southern Oregon hadn't gone to overtime in three seasons until Tuesday night, but the Raiders couldn't avoid maximum drama against their archrivals at Danny Miles Court.
And, after a wild sequence in the closing seconds, the 11th-ranked Raiders finished with an 83-79 win over Oregon Tech.
They trailed by two when Toria Bradford missed inside with 10 seconds on the clock, but Ariel Augustine grabbed the offensive rebound and hit a short jumper for the tie. When the Owls inbounded to Baylee Toney, she was trapped in the corner and traveled. And when the Raiders inbounded to Casey Williams, she stuck a turnaround 13-footer off the backboard for the biggest shot of her career with four seconds left.
Bradford also stole the ensuing Owls inbounds pass and hit two free throws to bring her final line to 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting and six assists. Her backcourt mate, Remi Mejia, scored 30 points on 12-of-24 shooting and had dominated as the Raiders turned a five-point deficit after the first quarter into a 68-60 lead with 1:22 to play in regulation.
By hanging on, the Raiders went to 14-1 overall and 6-1 in the Cascade Conference. They hadn't won an overtime game since Feb. 2, 2013; they'd only played one since.
The Owls (10-7, 3-4) took them there after Nohea Waiwaiole knocked down a shot to make it 69-all with four seconds left in regulation. Prior to that, Mikaela Shumaker's 3-pointer with 29 seconds left cut into a five-point SOU lead, and a pair of missed Raider free throws set up OIT for the tie.
Waiwaiole and Shumaker led five Owls in double figures with 13 points apiece.
Augustine's game-tying shot in OT capped a 16-point, seven-rebound, four-steal night.
After trailing 14-9 early, she helped as the Raiders took control with a 13-2 run. In the third quarter, one of Mejia's four 3-pointers and an Augustine layup gave them their biggest lead at 55-41.
It was the ninth straight game in which Mejia has made at least three 3-pointers, and her second 30-point output of the season.
Men's Basketball
OIT 88, SOU 73: At Klamath Falls, Harrison Steiger hit 9 of 10 shots on his way to 20 points to lead 19th-ranked Oregon Tech over ninth-ranked Southern Oregon.
Tristen Holmes had 15 points and five rebounds and Jordan Hunt 13 points to lead SOU, which fell to 10-6 overall and 5-2 in the Cascade Conference.
Oregon Tech shot 52 percent from the floor (33-for-63) and improved to 5-2 in the CCC.
Men's Wrestling
SOU 20, PROVIDENCE 18: At Great Falls, Mont., Southern Oregon's 13th-ranked Raiders upset the sixth-ranked Providence Argos in a Cascade Collegiate Conference dual.
Both teams won four matches and forfeited a class, but junior 141-pounder Devin Poppen's bonus points proved to be the difference in helping SOU improve to 3-2 on the season.
Poppen, ranked fourth in his class in the NAIA, scored an 18-2 technical fall over Jarren Komac that ended one minute into the second round. He went to 4-1 in duals, and his were the only bonus points of the contest.
Three Raiders notched decisions: Kale Evenson (133 pounds) started with a 13-10 win against Eli Watson; sixth-ranked Hunter Hodges (157) dominated eighth-ranked Casey Dobson, 8-1; and Tanner Canaday's 12-9 defeat of Gage Bentley gave the Raiders a 20-3 lead going into the last four weight classes.
SOU did well to keep the Argos' top threats from scoring big, considering they ran out fifth-ranked Shonn Roberts (149), fourth-ranked Adrian Lyons-Lopez (174) and eighth-ranked Randy Keesler (184) — each of whom were kept to wins by decision.
SOU's only letdown was at 197 pounds, where No. 15 Hohn Hensley topped No. 3 Tanner Fisher, 3-2, in a tiebreaker. The result ended Fischer's 15-match winning streak in dual action that dated back to last season.
The Argos dropped to 6-3 on the season. They'd won their regular-season meetings against SOU the previous two years.