6 p.m. Wednesday – Simpson (Calif.) at SOU
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ASHLAND – After taking blow after blow a year ago, the depth that has unlocked Southern Oregon's frenetic pace during the Alex Carlson era is expected to be back in play.

Starting on Wednesday night at Lithia Motors Pavilion, the Raiders hope that means their knack for making opponents uncomfortable will be on display again too. They've ranked top-10 nationally in steals, turnover margin and offensive rebounds four years in a row under Carlson, but a core that was already light on experience couldn't withstand an injury bug that took out its two true centers before the season and two more key backcourt pieces down the stretch in 2018-19.

The result was a six-game losing streak to end the season that kept them out of the national tournament for the first time since 2014. Their course-correction efforts will be led by senior point guard Daranda Hinkey and junior all-star forward Syd'Nee Fryer, who are among nine returning players that will be joined in the rotation by three true freshmen.

"We're excited to have the depth and experience back that we had my first three years here," Carlson said. "We're just trying to get back to the tempo that has made us really successful, and I'm extremely excited about the potential of this team and what we can accomplish together."

PRESEASON POLLS: Eastern Oregon, which has earned at least a share of the last three CCC regular-season titles, is the coaches' preseason favorite again despite losing the NAIA Division II Player of the Year. Corban and Oregon Tech are next in the poll – they tied for second last season – and SOU is fourth, having received one first-place vote and posted a winning conference record seven years in row. The top three are also listed in the preseason NAIA DII Top 25: EOU is No. 8, Corban is No. 14 and Oregon Tech is No. 21. The Raiders are receiving the eighth-most votes among teams outside of the poll.

FIRST UP: SOU will play its opener at home at 6 p.m. Wednesday against 1-4 Simpson (Calif.), which has already matched up with three ranked teams – EOU, No. 1 Concordia (Neb.) and No. 2 Southeastern (Fla.). On Friday and Saturday, the Raiders will be in Lewiston, Idaho, to play Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and defending NAIA Div. I champion Montana Western. Both Frontier Conference schools are receiving votes in the NAIA DI Top 25.

LAST SEASON: Coming off a three-year stretch in which they went a combined 88-12, the Raiders adjusted on the fly to life without two graduated NAIA All-American guards. Working in three new starters outside and light on posts, they went 16-11 were 12-3 in the CCC when their troubles began – ultimately finishing fourth place in the conference at 12-8 and getting ousted by College of Idaho in the CCC Tournament quarterfinals. Forward Ariel Augustine was named to the All-CCC team after posting 13.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, and Fryer garnered honorable mention. Augustine and forward Destinee Jones were the only starters lost from the team.

POSITION BY POSITION:
POINT GUARDS: After serving as one of SOU's top reserves for the first half of her career, Daranda Hinkey nearly doubled her scoring average to 10.9 points and ranked among the league leaders in assists (3.1), 3-pointers per game (2.3), 3-point percentage (36.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4-to-1) in her first season as a starter. Now a senior, the Raiders will look to the 5-foot-4 Reno product to make another jump.

"She had a great offseason and got herself in really good shape," Carlson said. "Daranda has always been one of the hardest workers around and she's set up to have a big senior year."

Behind her is sophomore Kalei Iwami, who Carlson believes can be the top shooting threat on the team. As a freshman, she proved her play-making ability with 7.5 points per game off the bench and a 21-of-62 mark from 3, but her progress was temporarily stunted with a 12-game absence due to injury.

WINGS: Two more returning starters, junior Kenadee Honaker and sophomore Dominique Harding, will reassume their positions at the other guard spots. At 5-9, Honaker has established herself as one of the peskiest defenders in the circuit, averaging two as a freshman and topping the CCC at 2.6 last year. She also chipped in five points and five boards per game, but her season was also cut short by nine games due to injury. Following a redshirt season, Harding came on to start in her place and scored in double figures five times during that stretch, finishing with an average of 7.5. On the season, she led all Raider guards in field-goal percentage (44.4).

"Kenadee does a lot of everything for us and you could see how important she is to our team when we didn't have her, so it's a big deal getting her back healthy again," Carlson said. "And I think (Harding) has all-conference potential, so we're hoping for a breakout season from her."

Delaney Sparling will again be a staple of the rotation, coming into her senior season with 109 3-point field goals made. Sophomore sparkplug Danasia Allison will get an expanded role after seeing action in 24 games last year and connecting on 40 percent of her attempts.

FORWARDS: Perhaps SOU's most versatile scorer, 5-9 junior Syd'Nee Fryer experienced the most significant jump from her first to second season while landing among the CCC leaders in points (11.2), rebounds (6.4) and steals (2.2). She was at her best down the stretch, averaging 15.2 points over the Raiders' final 10 games and erupting for a career-high 30 on 10-of-12 shooting in their playoff outing, which also marked her fifth double-digit rebounding game.

"She's an all-conference caliber player and we need her to give us that consistency every night," Carlson said.

Fryer's primary backups will be Mallory Heard, a third-year Raider who appeared in 24 games last season, and Izzy Hernandez, a freshman who was an all-star at Bishop Alemany (Calif.).

At the 5 spot, the Raiders will replace another starter but get a noticeable uptick in size after going all of last season without an appearance from a 6-footer. Bryanna Raff is back after redshirting due to injury – in 2017-18, she played 10 minutes per game and shot nearly 50 percent – and Kami Walk and Annika Riddell will enter the fray as freshmen. Walk is a 5-11 former all-star at Sheldon and give the Raiders high upside as a versatile scorer, and Riddell is their tallest presence at 6-2 out of Independence's Central High.