4:30 p.m. Friday – SOU (4-1) at College of Idaho (5-1) | Live Stats | Stream
3 p.m. Saturday – SOU (4-1) at Eastern Oregon (3-1) | Live Stats | Stream
(All times Pacific)

ASHLAND – Following a 19-day layoff, the Southern Oregon University women's basketball team won't get the luxury of easing into the Cascade Conference portion of its schedule.

The No. 18-ranked Raiders (4-1 overall) had an encouraging non-conference run, their only loss coming at No. 2 Westmont (Calif.). A few weeks removed from that, they'll start CCC play in three of the tougher gyms to steal road victories – at College of Idaho (5-1) on Friday, at Eastern Oregon (3-1) on Saturday, and at Oregon Tech (4-2) on Dec. 10. Last season, amid an 18-4 run through the conference, they went 0-2 on the CI-EOU road swing and prevailed in overtime at OIT.

NAIA TOP 25: The Raiders moved up two spots to No. 18 in Wednesday's second NAIA coaches' poll of the regular season despite not playing since the first poll was released on Nov. 16. The ranking is their highest since the 2018-19 season, when they peaked at No. 12 in the Division II rankings. The No. 20 ranking in the initial regular season Top 25 marked the Raiders' first appearance in the poll since the NAIA's two basketball divisions merged in 2020; they cracked the DII rankings in six consecutive seasons from 2013-19. This year they got the attention of national pollsters by upsetting Carroll (Mont.), which opened at No. 4 in the preseason and now sits at No. 9. Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) is the CCC's other Top 25 representative at No. 13 and Eastern Oregon is receiving votes.

BRIEFLY:

• Dating back to last season, the Raiders have held 13 of their last 14 opponents to 60 points or fewer and 37 consecutive opponents under 70. Their average of 52.8 points allowed currently ranks 11th of 236 teams on the NAIA leaderboard, and their defensive rating of 81.4 points allowed per 100 possessions is 64th. Last season they finished at No. 4 in defensive rating (73.8 points allowed per 100 possessions).
• Kami Walk, SOU's junior all-conference forward, has scored in double figures all five games this season and in 16 of her last 17 outings going back to last winter. On the CCC leaderboard, she's No. 12 in points (14.6), No. 14 in steals (1.6) and No. 16 in rebounds (6.4).
• The Raider backcourt of Brianna Phiakhamngon and Kalei Iwami is combining for nearly 20 points per game (Phiakhamngon, 10.0; Iwami, 9.6). They're also nearly perfect at the free-throw line, with Iwami 12-of-12 and Phiakhamngon 12-of-13.
• Emma Schmerbach and Makayla Scurlock are adding solid production off the bench as SOU's most efficient scorers. Scurlock is at 6.8 points per game on 52-percent shooting, and Schmerbach is chipping in 5.4 at 69 percent.
• Danasia Allison leads the Raiders at 1.8 steals per game, the 10th-best figure in the CCC. She was 13th in the circuit last season at 1.7.

ABOUT COLLEGE OF IDAHO: Picked sixth in the CCC preseason poll, the Yotes opened with five consecutive victories before a 70-53 loss to No. 21 Montana Western. They do most of their damage inside, as their three leading scorers – Sienna Riggle (17.2 points, 6.8 rebounds), Taryn Riley (11.2 points) and Lexi Mitchell (9.0 points, 11.2 rebounds) – have combined to attempt just nine 3-pointers. Riggle is a returning All-CCC selection at forward, and she keyed C of I's 61-45 upset of SOU last season – the Yotes' first win over the Raiders in Caldwell since 2013. SOU won the other matchup, 60-49, and is 35-29 in the all-time series.

ABOUT EASTERN OREGON: The Raiders are searching for their first regular season win at EOU since 2009, though they upset the Mountaineers in La Grande in the 2020 CCC semifinals and scored another semifinal win against them last season in Ashland. The Mountaineers were picked second in the CCC preseason poll after bringing back all but one starter from last year's team that went 18-4 in conference play to tie SOU for second in the standings. No. 21 Montana Western has accounted for their only loss, and they've survived so far despite limited contributions from all-conference guard Sailor Liefke – presumably working her way back from injury after averaging 18.7 points in three matchups with the Raiders last year. Beverly Slater, another All-CCC guard who sat out last season, leads the team with averages of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 2.8 assists. EOU leads the all-time series, 48-44.