7 p.m. Monday – Simpson (1-4) at SOU (0-0)
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ASHLAND – Finally, the Southern Oregon University women's basketball team is officially back this week. For a team that hasn't played a counter in 20 months and is being led by a first-year head coach, less has changed than one might expect.

Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt's squad makes its regular season debut at 7 p.m. Monday against Simpson (Calif.) inside Lithia Motors Pavilion. On Friday and Saturday, the Raiders will be in Spokane, Wash., for Whitworth's Quality Inn Whit Classic.

The world, and the program, look different since their last appearance: the first round of the NAIA Division II National Tournament on March 11, 2020. But nine players back from that team have provided stability, including returning All-Cascade Conference performers Syd'Nee Fryer and Dominique Harding and fifth-year seniors Mallory Heard and Kenadee Honaker. And they haven't forgotten how to win.

"I think we have some really strong leadership on this team from players who have helped build a great culture, and they're mixed with some determined young players who are eager to learn from them," Kloppenburg-Pruitt said. "They're so competitive. I have to put a score on everything in practice because they just want to compete and that makes it fun to come to the gym every day."

In terms of the product on the floor, details of the style may have changed, but the focus on pace pressure that led the Raiders to five national tournament appearances in their last six seasons is still in place.

"Our goal is to have a tough, gritty defense that gets after it for 40 minutes and puts pressure on people to take them out of what they want to do," Kloppenburg-Pruitt said. "Offensively, we'll try to keep it as up-tempo as we can and put our people in the right situations."

EXHIBITIONS IN REVIEW: The Raiders shook some rust off with two encouraging exhibitions at Humboldt State (Calif.) and Boise State (Idaho). Against the NCAA DII Lumberjacks, they had an eight-point lead with nine minutes to play before falling 75-67. And in a 62-49 loss to the NCAA DI Broncos, they forced 22 turnovers, held the home team to 36-percent shooting, and trailed by just five with eight minutes left. Sophomore post Kami Walk headed the individual efforts, averaging 18 points and seven rebounds in the contests.

LAST SEASON: In 2019-20, the Raiders posted their seventh 20-win record in eight years at 20-11 and finished third in the CCC standings at 14-6. They were at their best late and won at Eastern Oregon for the first time since 2014 in the CCC Tournament semifinals to clinch a spot in the national tourney, where they fell against No. 8-ranked St. Francis (Ill.). SOU opted out of the modified 2020-21 season that took place in the spring and included only six conference schools based in Oregon.

PRESEASON POLLS: Bushnell (formerly known as Northwest Christian) was the runaway favorite in the CCC preseason poll after winning the 2019-20 title and the shortened spring season. The Raiders were picked fifth, though they return four starters from their third-place team and haven't finished lower than fourth since 2012-13. Bushnell is the CCC's representative in the NAIA Top 25 preseason poll at No. 22, and Eastern Oregon is receiving votes. As of last year, NAIA basketball is back to a single division – it'd been split into two from 1992-2020 – and the national playoff field has been expanded from 32 to 64 teams.

POSITION-BY-POSITION
POINT GUARDS: The only position where the Raiders don't have starting experience is at point guard, but they have the next-best thing in Brianna Phiakhamngon. The former Clackamas High is in her second year with the team after transferring from Central Washington University following 2019-20. She was a regular in the rotation at the NCAA DII school for two years and as a sophomore averaged 5.9 points and 1.7 assists.

"She can shoot it and do a bit of everything else," Kloppenburg-Pruitt said. "She's very smart and receptive to coaching and has the trust of her teammates, which is really important at that spot."

Another player who came in last year, freshman Tyra Bradford, is the fourth in a line of siblings who have starred for the Raiders – preceded on the women's team by CCC all-stars Tiani and Toria. Like them, she was a standout at Oregon City High and has the tools to be a longtime staple in the SOU lineup. She'll break in along with Ventura C.C. transfer Yasmine Ahllamara, a former Foothill League Player of the Year at Valencia High (Calif.) who can fill either guard spot for the Raiders.

WINGS: The Raiders are loaded with proven contributors on the wings, where the headliner is 5-foot-8 senior Dominique Harding. As an All-CCC selection in 2019-20, she was among the leaders in points (14.5), rebounds (5.4), steals (2.0), field-goal percentage (46.4) and 3-point percentage (41.8). She was the most efficient perimeter player in the conference, and her offensive prowess was complemented by arguably the CCC's top defensive wing in Kenadee Honaker. Now a senior, Honaker has already been a CCC steals champ and is averaging 2.1 steals and 4.4 rebounds in her career.

"They're two of the best leaders I've been around just never stop playing hard and holding their teammates accountable," Kloppenburg-Pruitt said. "Dominique is kind of the glue to this team, and Kenadee is just a fireball and a great luxury on the defensive end."

Junior Kalei Iwami was one of SOU's most reliable bench scorer over her first two seasons. She averaged 7.3 points in just 15 minutes per game as a sophomore and is primed for an expanded role now. So are senior Mallory Heard and junior Danasia Allison, who were both regulars in the rotation their last two seasons. The newcomer to the group is a stellar defender of the same mold, Makayla Scurlock, a redshirt-freshman from Eugene's Sheldon High.

POSTS: All-CCC performer Syd'Nee Fryer is a regular on the conference's scoring and rebounding leaderboards. The senior pulled down 8.3 boards per game in 2019-20 – the highest average for a Raider in 10 years – and averaged 10.5 points over her last two seasons. The Raiders will depend on her consistent play again, and they're hoping for a jump from 5-11 sophomore Kami Walk, whose exhibition returns were promising. Walk started 25 games as a freshman, averaging 7.7 points on 46-percent shooting and 5.3 rebounds, and could be a go-to player now with the ability to score inside and out.

"Syd'Nee is just a dynamic player; she'll fill up a stat sheet and she's a really tough defender," Kloppenburg-Pruitt said. "Kami really worked hard in the offseason to get in great shape and she could be a matchup nightmare for some teams."

The Raiders have two more returners in sophomore Izzy Hernandez and redshirt-freshman Mia Wilmot. They could get a big boost from redshirt-freshman Clara Robbins, a 5-11 forward who joined the team last year via Liberty High and has impressed with her ability to finish and defend inside.