No. 20 RAIDER WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (8-2, 4-0)
5:30 p.m. Wednesday – vs. Oregon Tech (10-0, 4-0)
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ASHLAND – The only unbeaten teams left in Cascade Conference play, two player-of-the-year candidates, and the CCC's top offense and defense will clash Wednesday evening at Lithia Motors Pavilion. For a mid-December meeting, there is no shortage of intrigue between rivals Southern Oregon (8-2 overall, 4-0 CCC) and Oregon Tech (10-0, 4-0).

The teams will match up, with first place on the line, while both receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 poll for the first time since the 2016-17 season. The No. 20-ranked Raiders have never lost to OIT with all-star forward Kami Walk in the lineup, sweeping each of the last three season series. The Olivia Sprague-led Owls are 10-0 for the second time in team history under new head coach Joy Lease, but to keep their streak alive they'll have to win in Ashland for the first time in over five years. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

SOU vs. OIT: The Raiders are 43-38 against the Owls in a series that dates back to 1976, winners of six straight overall and seven of the last eight matchups in Ashland. Three of the last four at Lithia Motors Pavilion have been tied within the final three minutes, including last season's, which SOU ended on a 10-2 run to win 62-55. A month earlier in Klamath Falls, the Raiders forced 29 turnovers in an 81-47 decision that marked their widest margin of victory over OIT since 1980. They'll lean on their defense again to slow down an Owls team that tops the CCC in both points per game (77.1) and field-goal percentage (46.9). On the NAIA leaderboard SOU is fifth in points allowed (50.8) and 20th in defensive efficiency (74.8 points allowed/100 possessions), but the Owls are also 21st in the latter category (75.3).

NAIA TOP 25: The Raiders, who were outside of the poll in the preseason, moved up one spot last week to No. 20. The CCC's only other ranked team, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), also climbed to No. 7 before taking its first conference loss at home against Bushnell. OIT received its first votes and sits at No. 39 overall. The next poll is set for a Jan. 17 release; a new one will come out every two weeks after that.

BRIEFLY:

• Junior point guard Meghan McIntyre has scored in double figures eight games in a row and is up to No. 13 on the CCC points leaderboard (13.0), ranks No. 3 in steals (2.6), and is the team's fourth-leading rebounder (4.2). She logged season-highs of 21 points and seven steals in Saturday's win at Northwest; it was the fifth time this year that she has collected at least three steals. McIntyre has also committed just nine turnovers over her last five games after coughing up 17 over her first five.
• Kami Walk continues to climb SOU's all-time lists, now sitting at No. 10 in career points (1,330) and No. 9 in rebounds (730). She has scored 20-plus in three of her last six outings and ranks top-15 in the CCC in points (16.6, No. 4), blocked shots (0.9 No. 6), rebounds (7.1, No. 7), assists (2.6, No. 15), total free throws made (48, No. 1), free-throw percentage (88.9, No. 4), total 3-pointers made (14, No. 13) and 3-point percentage (35.9, No. 8).
• Sierra Scheppele became the first Raider this season to hit five 3-pointers in a game Saturday at Northwest. She is contributing 8.1 points per game off the bench and leads the team in 3-pointers on 21-of-62 accuracy.
• The Raiders are No. 4 in the NAIA in blocked shots per game (5.2) behind Clara Robbins, who leads the CCC with an average of 2.0. Robbins is well ahead of the pace she set last year while recording 47 blocks, the fifth-highest single-season total in SOU history, and the junior is one block away from becoming the sixth Raider ever with 100 in a career. She is also a top-10 rebounder in the CCC at 6.8 per game.
• The Raiders this season are 4-0 at home – where they are allowing an average of 48.8 points – and dating back to 2021 have won 21 consecutive CCC home games against unranked opponents. They're 47-10 at Lithia Motors Pavilion since moving into the building in 2018, including a 37-7 record in conference games.

ABOUT OREGON TECH:

• Olivia Sprague, a junior who earned NAIA All-America honorable mention last season, is blossoming into one of the best guards in the country, having scored or assisted nearly 40 percent of the Owls' baskets. In addition to her average of 18.3 points, she tops the CCC in assists per game (4.3) and can be found on every other major categorical leaderboard. She averaged 16 points last year against the Raiders, who did well to turn her over 12 times in two games.
• Sprague has a solid supporting cast in the backcourt with Kennedy Tull (11.7 points) and Gabbie Gascon (11.0 points, 3.9 assists). Collectively, the trio is shooting 46 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3 and 82 percent at the line.
• The matchup will be the first between siblings Tatum and Emma Schmerbach, whose father, Chris, played and was an assistant coach for the SOU men's basketball team. Emma is one of the conference's top defenders for the Raiders, averaging 1.4 blocks (No. 4 in the CCC), 4.0 rebounds and a steal per game; Tatum has broken into the starting lineup as a freshman for the Owls, contributing 7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and the CCC's seventh-highest assist average (3.0).