5:30 p.m. Friday – #6 SOU at Northwest Christian – Live Stats | Live Stream
5:30 p.m. Saturday – #6 SOU at Corban – Live Stats/Live Stream
CCC Standings | CCC Leaders | SOU Season Stats

ASHLAND – The sixth-ranked Southern Oregon women's basketball team has already locked up the Cascade Conference regular-season title and a spot in the NAIA Div. II national tournament, but the final weekend of the regular season is still far from meaningless.

Working on an eight-game win streak, the Raiders (24-1 overall, 17-1 CCC) remain in a fight for postseason positioning going into games Friday at fourth-place Northwest Christian (18-9, 13-5) and Saturday at fifth-place Corban (16-11, 11-7). Both contests are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.

Even though top-ranked Saint Xavier (Ill.) is the only other one-loss team in the country, the Raiders' efforts to move up in the rankings have often been futile. Case in point: last week they went 3-0, including wins over Oregon Tech and Eastern Oregon – both of which advanced to the national tournament last season and have appeared in the top-25 this year –and still failed to move up in the polls. Losses to lesser squads would almost undoubtedly result in a ranking hit, which would of course make for a less favorable draw at the national tournament.

A weekend sweep would also tie the Raiders for the most regular-season wins in program history. (The 2007-08 team was 26-4.)

Playoff Picture: SOU's first title in eight years means the Raiders will have home-court advantage for as long as they stay alive in the eight-team CCC tournament. The quarterfinal round will tip off at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Mountain Avenue Gym, while the semifinal and championship rounds are slated for next Friday and Feb. 29 at the same time. Depending on how this weekend plays out, SOU's quarterfinal opponent will either be College of Idaho, Northwest or Warner Pacific.

Quick Hits:
– After last week's wins, seniors Ashley Clausen, Carly Meister and Kristin Smeaton have now won more games (98) in their four years than any players in program history.
– The Raiders have won 27 straight regular-season home games and 21 straight CCC regular-season home games. They've gone undefeated at home now in two straight regular seasons.
– Claussen is up to 1,249 career points and 494 assists – just six assists away from becoming the first player in team history to record over 1,000 points and 500 assists. She leads the conference in scoring (18.6 points) and steals (2.7) and third in assists (3.8).
– The Raiders are fourth in the NAIA in assists per game (19.2) and Demi Sahlinger has been critical to their stellar ball movement, ranking 10th in the CCC in assists per game (2.9).
– Autumn Durand is the reigning CCC player of the week after posting 43 points, 29 rebounds, nine assists, six blocks and five steals in three games. She ranks among the CCC leaders in seven categories and is coming off a career-high 14 boards against College of Idaho.
– Four of the CCC's top-five in field-goal percentage are Raiders: Courtney Setzer (64.2), Meister (62.0), Durand (56.3) and Sydney Mullings (56.3).
– Behind Claussen, Tiani Bradford (2.6) and Toria Bradford (2.5) are second and third in the CCC in steals.
– The Raiders have shot over 47 percent as a team in seven of their last eight games. They hit that mark six times in their first 17 games.

About Northwest Christian: In their first meeting of the season on Dec. 6, SOU defeated NCU 88-70… The Beacons' last win over the Raiders was in their first meeting in the 2014-15 season (95-92) in Eugene… SOU leads the all-time series, 15-3… Hanna Mack leads the conference in blocks with 2.3 per game followed by Andrea Gloss with 1.9… The Beacons are led in scoring (10.1) assists (3.2) and steals (1.9) by Monique Thompson.

About Corban: The Warriors are led in scoring (17.3), assists (3.6) and steals (1.2) by Jade Lowery… Sadie Pilgeram leads in rebounds averaging 8.8 per game…..SOU defeated Corban in their first meeting of the season on Dec. 6, 88-70… SOU has won three straight over the Warriors and leads the all-time series 37-26.