ASHLAND, Ore. – Gabbie Gascon scored a career-high 22 points, as Oregon Tech took over sole possession of first-place in the Cascade Conference with a 68-59 victory at No. 20-ranked Southern Oregon inside Lithia Motors Pavilion.
The Lady Owls (11-0, 5-0 CCC) never trailed in the contest, using a 14-2 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to end a 6-game losing streak to their rivals – picking up their first win against the Raiders in their new arena.
SOU (8-3, 4-1) erased a 36-30 third quarter deficit with a 6-0 run, with an Izzy Hernandez lay-up pulling the hosts even with three minutes left in the period. Tech turned to their freshmen, as a pair of lay-ups from Kendall Fealey were sandwiched around a Tatum Schmerbach 3-pointer, with two Gascon free throws giving Tech the 45-36 lead.
Alexis Elquist gave OIT their largest lead at 52-40, before SOU made a late push. Kami Walk converted a 3-point play, starting a 7-0 run that cut the deficit to five. The Lady Owls weathered the storm, getting late buckets from Fealey and fellow frosh, Jozie Ramos, with the squad making 9-of-10 free throws inside the last two minutes to seal the victory.
Gascon finished 5-of-8 from the field, converting all 10 free throw chances – adding five rebounds and four assists. Elquist had 13 points, with Olivia Sprague scoring 13, adding seven rebounds and five assists. Fealey had all six of her points in the second half, with Schmerbach scoring six and a team-best nine boards.
Meghan McIntyre led Southern with 25 points and seven steals in the loss, with Walk scoring 15. The Raiders converted just 2-of-16 3-point attempts and finished 31-percent from the floor.
The Lady Owls will be off for the Holidays, returning to the court on Jan. 5, hosting Warner Pacific at 5:30 p.m. as part of the annual Rogue Credit Union White Out.
