CASCADE CONFERENCE STATS/STANDINGS

ASHLAND – With a three-way tie for second place and a three-way tie for fifth clogging up the standings, things could change in a hurry in the Cascade Conference women's basketball race.

Southern Oregon (17-6 overall, 6-5 CCC) is one of the teams in fifth, though just one game separates the Raiders from that next group. Taking a step up will necessitate winning on the road, where five of their final seven regular season games will be played.

The trek starts Friday in Salem against the Corban Warriors (11-12, 6-5) and Saturday in Eugene against the Northwest Christian Beacons (6-14, 2-9). Both games start at 5:30 p.m., and live stats and video can be accessed by clicking the links provided at the SOU schedule page.

The Raiders have a 2-2 conference road record and are 5-2 against their remaining opponents. One of those losses was against Corban, 82-79 on Jan. 4, when the Raiders let one slip away late without the services of four of their players.

The Warriors' win – fueled by the play of posts Tara Vanweerdhuizen (25 points, eight rebounds) and Jade Lowery (21 points, six rebounds) against SOU's circumstantially thin front line – was part of their 6-1 start in the CCC, but they've since lost four straight and last weekend shot just 32.7 percent at Northwest and Evergreen. Vanweerdhuizen, a 6-foot-2 junior, ranks seventh in the league in points (14.5) and second in rebounding (9.9), while guard Jade Lowery is averaging 13.5 points and 2.8 assists.

The Raiders lead the all-time series against Corban, 33-26, and last year ended a four-game losing streak on the Warriors' home court.

SOU's 89-75 win on Jan. 3 was its 12th in 14 meetings with Northwest Christian, which stopped its four-game losing streak Tuesday night with an 81-61 nonleague triumph at New Hope Christian. The Beacons are last in the league in scoring (61.4), last in 3-point percentage (26.8) and eighth in field-goal percentage (35.8).

The Beacons are led in scoring and rebounding by posts Andrea Gloss (13.4, 7.0) and Chandler Gabrio (12.2, 6.7).

Some notes on SOU:
 

• The first time SOU met these teams, point guard Ashley Claussen (Scotts Valley, Calif./Santa Cruz) had her best weekend as a Raider with 20 points and 10 assists against the Beacons and 18 points and eight assists against the Warriors – shooting a combined 12 of 23. In conference play, Claussen averages 10.0 points, ranks third at 5.0 assists and ranks fourth with an 86.2-percent clip from the free-throw line. 

• Kristen Schoenherr (Rainier, Wash./Rainier) on Monday was named the CCC Red Lion Player of the Week for the second time. Against College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon, she averaged 26.5 points, 7 rebounds, 6.5 assists and two steals. In conference play, she ranks third in scoring (16.7 points), third in field-goal percentage (55.6), fourth in steals (2.0), seventh in assists (4.1), 11th in free-throw percentage (81.7) and 18th in rebounding (5.1).

• Carly Meister (Elma, Wash./Elma) is heating back up, averaging 15.1 points and 7.5 rebounds on 25-for-45 shooting over SOU's last four games. On Wednesday, she was also named to the U.S. Bank Academic All-CCC team.

• Despite coming off the bench last weekend, Allison Gida (Ashland, Ore./Ashland) continued to clean up the glass and now has 56 rebounds in her last five games. In her first five, she had 14.

• The Raiders have committed more turnovers than their opponents in five straight games, but may be in luck this weekend: Northwest Christian and Corban rank ninth and 10^th in the league in turnover margin.