5:30 p.m. Saturday – Northwest Christian at SOU – Live Stats | Live Stream
1 p.m. Sunday – Corban at SOU – Live Stats | Live Stream

ASHLAND – Literally a coin flip.

If all goes well this weekend for fifth-ranked Southern Oregon (23-3 overall, 16-2 CCC), that's what the Cascade Conference regular season will come down to. Granted, two formidable and playoff-bound opponents are in the Raiders' way: fourth-place Northwest Christian (17-9, 14-4) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and sixth-place Corban (14-12, 8-10) at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Should the Raiders win both, they'll (almost certainly) share their second straight CCC title with Eastern Oregon (24-4, 17-2), whose only remaining opponent is winless Walla Walla. Since the Raiders and EOU have matching losses – on each other's home courts and at Oregon Tech – the tiebreaker would be a coin flip, with the winner getting an automatic bid to the NAIA Division II Championships and the loser getting the No. 1 seed in and homecourt advantage throughout the CCC tournament, which starts Tuesday and will decide the conference's second automatic bid.

The Raiders have won 29 CCC home games in a row. Though they've captured five CCC regular-season titles since the circuit's first year of women's hoops, 1991-92, they've never won it in back-to-back seasons.

Last Week in Review: SOU went cold down the stretch Friday at 17th-ranked Eastern Oregon, dropping its eighth straight regular-season game at Quinn Coliseum, 74-61. Led by Maya Ah You's 19 points, the Mounties trailed by three at halftime but took control with a 10-of-16 shooting performance in the third quarter, and their bench put them over the top by going 12-of-21 with 33 points. The Raiders bounced back with a 73-56 win Saturday at College of Idaho as Autumn Durand totaled 25 points and nine boards and Casey Williams went 6-of-8 for 17 points. SOU forced 29 turnovers in the game and held the Yotes to 35-percent shooting, blowing open what was a 47-44 game midway through the third.

Senior Moments: Though SOU is guaranteed to be in Ashland for the CCC quarterfinals Tuesday, the Raiders will recognize five seniors Sunday following their final regular-season home games:
– Tiani Bradford, a fourth-year Raider, has done her best work in the latter part of her career: Last season, she was second in the CCC in steals per game (2.5), and this season she 30th in points (9.8), eighth in assists (3.4), sixth in steals (2.2) and second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6).
– Autumn Durand has started 123 of SOU's 124 games since her arrival in 2013, and in that time she's totaled 1,500 points (5th in SOU history), 762 rebounds (8th) and 172 steals. She currently ranks second in the CCC in points (16.5) and fifth in rebounds (7.3).
– Sydney Mullings, who transferred in prior to last season, has transformed into one of the CCC's most explosive and versatile players of late, averaging 16.5 points on 61-percent shooting and 6.6 rebounds over 10 games in 2017.
– A two-year starter at point guard, Demi Sahlinger sits at 351 career assists – the seventh-most in Raider history. Her astonishing assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.1-to-1 is currently the best in the nation.
– Majerle Reeves' role gets bigger every year, and this season she's been at her most effective with 78 3-pointers – 22 shy of tying the SOU single-season record – on 41-percent accuracy. She leads the CCC in 3-point makes and is up to 149 for her career, the fourth-most in Raider history.

About Northwest Christian:
– The Beacons dropped into fourth place with a 70-55 loss Thursday at Oregon Tech but have already guaranteed their best record since joining the CCC, topping their 13-7 effort last year that marked their first winning conference season. They have an 8-3 record on the road.
– The Raiders went to 18-3 in the all-time series with a 79-57 win Dec. 10 in Eugene. The Beacons are 1-11 in Ashland; their lone win was in the 2011-12 season.
– Monique Thompson was leading NCU at 16.1 points per game but has missed the team's last eight games. The Beacons are 6-2 without her, and Jeni Hoffert has stepped up by scoring in double figures six times. Niki Duncan averages 11.4 points, and she and Hoffert have combined for 110 3-pointers in leading the Beacons to more than nine per game.

About Corban:
– The Warriors have gone 1-3 in February but lost those games by a combined 12 points.
– SOU won the first meeting, improving to 39-26 in the series with a 69-60 decision Dec. 9 in Salem.
– Maddey Plaumer averages a CCC-best 17.2 points during conference play on 59-percent shooting. She also helps the Warriors top the CCC in offensive boards (14.6). The combo of Sadie Pilgeram and Maci Benedict in the backcourt has produced 108 3-pointers on 36-percent shooting.