12 p.m. Friday – SOU at Walla Walla | Live Stats | Live Stream
4 p.m. Saturday – SOU at Lewis-Clark State | Live Stats | Live Stream

ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon University women's basketball team remains at No. 23 in the NAIA Top 25 coaches' poll entering this weekend's Cascade Conference road trip.

The Raiders (12-3 overall, 8-1 CCC), who entered the season unranked, have held the same spot in the poll since Dec. 14. They're currently in a second-place tie with Eastern Oregon, which moved up four spots this week to No. 16.

After visiting ninth-place Walla Walla (Wash.) (3-9, 2-7) on Friday, they'll have an opportunity to force a first-place tie Saturday against the CCC's highest-ranked team: No. 10 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (14-1, 9-0). The Warriors – who brought back four starters from last season's conference regular-season champion squad, including reigning CCC Player of the Year Callie Stevens – are working on a 14-game winning streak.

Saturday's game will be a rematch of the 2022 CCC Tournament title game, which the Raiders dominated for a 56-34 triumph in their last visit to Lewiston. That night, the Warriors mustered their lowest point total in at least 20 years.

Defense has been the story of the Raiders' season again, particularly in last weekend's home sweep. In a 50-43 win over Bushnell, they posted their lowest shooting percentage (25) in a win over the last 10 years by holding the Beacons without a field goal for the final five minutes. And in a 71-34 decision over Corban the next night, the Warriors' 21-percent mark from the field was the worst for a Raider opponent since 2015.

SOU owns the 12th-best defensive rating out of 236 NAIA teams, giving up 75.3 points per 100 possessions. The Raiders' points-allowed average of 51.3 is tied for the best in the country.
 

RANK	LAST	SCHOOL [1st-place votes]	RECORD	POINTS
1	1	Thomas More (Ky.) [21]	17-0	591
2	4	Central Methodist (Mo.)	14-0	564
3	5	Dordt (Iowa)	16-0	549
4	3	Campbellsville (Ky.)	15-1	537
5	2	Westmont (Calif.)	13-1	516
6	6	Marian (Ind.)	16-1	503
7	7	Indiana Wesleyan	14-3	473
8	8	Clarke (Iowa)	13-2	444
9	9	Loyola (La.)	13-0	441
10	10	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	14-1	436
11	12	Rio Grande (Ohio)	15-2	381
12	18	Montana Western	15-2	375
13	14	Vanguard (Calif.)	11-3	342
14	13	Indiana Tech	14-3	340
15	15	Northwestern (Iowa)	12-3	323
16	20	Eastern Oregon	13-2	264
17	NR	Texas Wesleyan	14-1	258
18	11	Carroll (Mont.)	12-5	253
19	17	Science & Arts (Okla.)	14-1	241
20	NR	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	12-4	239
21	22	Briar Cliff (Iowa)	12-4	186
22	16	Sterling (Kan.)	12-4	181
23	23	Southern Oregon	12-3	145
24	NR	Cumberlands (Ky.)	14-3	143
25	NR	Rust (Miss.)	8-3	116

Dropped from the Poll: Mid-America Christian (Okla.), St. Francis (Ill.), Georgetown (Ky.), Dakota Wesleyan
Receiving Votes: Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 106, IU South Bend (Ind.) 82, Pikeville (Ky.) 55, Texas A & M Texarkana 50, Reinhardt (Ga.) 43, Dakota State (S.D.) 40, Jamestown (N.D.) 32, St. Francis (Ill.) 32, Hope International (Calif.) 29, Faulkner (Ala.) 21, Grace (Ind.) 16, Siena Heights (Mich.) 9, Philander Smith (Ark.) 6, Oakland City (Ind.) 6, Georgetown (Ky.) 4, Midway (Ky.) 3