BOX SCORE (PDF)
ARCATA, Calif. – A tough Southern Oregon squad came to town Friday night and provided fierce competition for the Humboldt State women's basketball team as it wrapped its exhibition schedule with a 76-61 victory.
"I thought we maintained our effort and intensity pretty well," said HSU Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. "The times that Southern Oregon went on runs, we weathered the storm. We did some good things but certainly have areas that need to be tightened up, in particular on the defensive end. We have to come out of timeouts much much better."
The teams were even, 31-31, through two quarters of action, but the Green and Gold made adjustments and pulled away in the second half behind a strong defensive effort.
HSU used six second-chance points, and Isamar Conde led the way with four points to take a 15-14 first quarter advantage. Southern Oregon showed off its depth as its bench provided 12 of its second-quarter points to make it 31-31 at intermission. The Lumberjacks outrebounded the visitors 22-8 in the first half, but HSU was limited to 32.4 percent shooting.
Conde led the way with 11 points in the first 20 minutes, however, the second half was all about Alexia Thrower. The junior scored 21 points and grabbed nine boards as she guided the Green and Gold to another home win.
The Raiders were unable to overcome the Jacks halftime defensive adjustments. Southern Oregon shot 20.6 percent from the field in the second half and scored 14 of its 30 points at the free-throw line.
Thrower finished the game with a team-best 25 points and 13 boards, while Tyra Turner and Conde had 14 and 13 points, respectively. Turner also led the Green and Gold with seven assists.
"Southern Oregon is a good team, and they showed us a lot of different looks that we will definitely learn from," said Bento-Jackson. "We will break down film and we have to have good practices leading up to Western Washington next week."
HSU travels to face Western Washington on Friday, Nov. 9, in the West Region Crossover Classic. Tipoff from Bellingham, Wash., is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
