ASHLAND – As usual, the fourth-ranked Southern Oregon men's basketball team (3-1 overall) and the 5-1 women will get the holiday season started by spending some time with their archrival, Oregon Tech.

The festivities begin on Friday and Saturday when both Raider squads take part in OIT's Midland Empire Classic at Danny Miles Court. On Tuesday, the Raider men will visit the Owls for a nonconference game, and next Friday and Saturday the OIT teams will return the favor by coming to SOU's Flagship Inn Classic.

Here's a look first at Oregon Tech's tournament. The SOU women play both days at 1 p.m. and the men at 3 p.m.


SOU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
 
Friday vs. William Jessup (3-4), 1 p.m.: The Warriors have already lost to two Cascade Conference opponents in OIT (69-50) and Northwest (64-63). They're struggling from the field, shooting 36.9 percent as a team, but they're 12^th in the NAIA in 3-point makes at just over eight per game. Ashley Rose has 17 3-pointers and averages 17.4 points to lead the team and Sarah Petersen is putting up 15.0 points and 11.9 rebounds inside. SOU leads the all-time series 8-1.
 
Saturday vs. California Maritime (3-3), 1 p.m.: The Raiders already saw the Keelhaulers in the first game of the season and won, 99-80. Maritime has since defeated Northwest Christian (76-67) and lost to Concordia (62-54) but is also having a rough time offensively while shooting 35.8 percent. Javier Brantley led four players in double figures with 19 points against the Raiders and averages team-bests of 15.5 points and 5.1 rebounds. The Raiders, who went 32-for-64 from the field the first time around, lead the series 10-2.
 
Scho-time: Kristen Schoenherr (Rainier, Wash./Rainier), a 5-foot-9 guard who transferred before the season from Centralia College, was named the CCC player of the week on Monday. She averaged 20.5 points when SOU split at the Lewis-Clark State Tournament last weekend on 15-for-28 shooting with 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. In her first six starts for the Raiders, she is producing 14.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals.
 
Sophomore post Carly Meister (Elma, Wash./Elma) is also off to a quick start. Last Saturday she rang up a career-high 15 rebounds in addition to 16 points against Cal State San Marcos, raising her team-high averages to 14.3 points and 8.0 boards.
 
The Raiders currently lead the country in rebounds per game (53.7) with 18.7 coming on the offensive end, and they're 24th in 3-pointers made per game (7.2). However, last weekend they were without their top 3-point shooter, Bree Park (Bellingham, Wash./Meridian), and this weekend they'll be without 10.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists with point guard Ashley Claussen (Scotts Valley, Calif./Santa Cruz) sidelined due to injury.

 
SOU MEN'S BASKETBALL
 
Friday vs. Westminster (4-2), 3 p.m.: The Griffins' tour through the Cascade Conference started last weekend in Idaho, where they lost to College of Idaho (90-71) and topped Eastern Oregon (73-66). The Frontier Conference school, located in Salt Lake City, has never hooked up with Southern Oregon. The Griffins have been a subpar shooting squad thus far, hitting at 40.4 percent from the field, 28.6 from 3 and 61.3 from the line. They're led by 6-6 senior forward Tallon Robertson, who is posting team-highs of 17.7 points and 8.2 rebounds.
 
Saturday vs. William Jessup (3-3), 3 p.m.: SOU is 6-2 in the series against the Warriors with wins in the last three meetings, but the Warriors have been tough on the CCC this season: They won at home against Oregon Tech, 64-50, and split a pair of two-point games against Northwest University. Corey Clement is averaging 14.8 points on 54-percent shooting and 7.0 rebounds. Six different Warriors have hit at least 16 points.
 
Just score, baby: Off since Nov. 9, the Raiders hope to have improved a defense that has been lackluster in giving up 85 points per game since their opener. Offensively, on the other hand, they're among the NAIA's leaders in every major category: points per game (93.0), assists per game (24.0), field-goal percentage (51.0), 3-point field goal percentage (41.6) and 3-point makes per game (11.8).
 
After a 2-0 start, the Raiders went 1-1 on their most recent road trip at Westmont (64-80) and The Master's (92-80). The frustrating loss at Westmont was followed by a win that looks even better now than it did then: The Master's, a few days after losing to the Raiders, edged Cal Poly Pomona, which was ranked No. 7 at the NCAA Division II level at the time.
 
Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) matched a career-high with 34 points in the win and leads SOU with an average of 21.8 points so far. Alongside him in the frontcourt, David Sturner (Philomath, Ore./Philomath) is averaging a double-double (18.5 points, 11.8 rebounds). In the backcourt, Jeff Bush (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) averages 7.5 points, 7.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds, and Kyle Tedder (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield)'s 13.3 points are coming with 45.2-percent shooting from beyond the arc.