No. 24 RAIDER WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (11-4, 7-2)
5:30 p.m. Friday – vs. Corban (5-10, 4-5) | Live Stats
3 p.m. Saturday – vs. Bushnell (9-6, 5-4) | Live Stats
LIVE STREAMS | TICKETS

ASHLAND – Corban and Bushnell, the only Cascade Conference teams Southern Oregon has yet to see, are in town this weekend to round out the first half of the circuit schedule at Lithia Motors Pavilion.

Entering the matchups at No. 24 in the NAIA rankings and third in the CCC standings, the Raiders (11-4 overall, 7-2 CCC) play the sixth-place Warriors (5-10, 4-5) at 5:30 p.m. Friday and the fifth-place Beacons (9-6, 5-4) at 3 p.m. Saturday. It's a homestand they've swept each of the last two seasons and precedes a five-game road swing.

NAIA TOP 25: In the first coaches' poll released since Dec. 13, the Raiders moved down four spots to No. 24 on Wednesday after going 5-2 during the ratings period. On a positive note, the CCC is again represented by three teams in the Top 25 – the first time that has been true this deep into a season since the NAIA's two basketball divisions merged into one in 2020. Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (13-2, 9-1), which took over first place by routing SOU and Oregon Tech last weekend, stayed at No. 7; Oregon Tech (14-1, 8-1), which was undefeated until visiting LCSC, debuted in the poll at No. 20. The next edition will be released Jan. 31.

BRIEFLY:

• The Raiders continue to atone for their shooting struggles by dominating the paint. Their average of 5.4 blocked shots per game is third-best in the NAIA – no CCC team has averaged five in eight years – and it is leading to an opponents' field-goal percentage of 35.4 that ranks fifth nationally. They are outscoring CCC opponents inside by an average of eight points per game, and by 12 in wins. Those numbers are significant considering the Raiders are giving up just 52.1 points in conference games, a CCC-best mark. They're now 9-0 when they hit the 60-point mark.
• Meghan McIntyre has logged 18-plus points in five of SOU's last six games. Before scoring eight at Lewis-Clark State, she had been in double figures 11 games in a row – making her the first Raider guard to do so since All-American Remi Mejia in 2017-18. In CCC play, she ranks sixth on the conference leaderboard in points (15.9), second in steals (2.9) and ninth in assists (3.2). Only one other player, OIT's Olivia Sprague, is top-10 in each of those categories.
• Kami Walk is three points away from becoming the seventh player in team history to score 1,400 in a career, and with 764 rebounds she is three away from taking over the No. 7 spot on that list. She is also seventh in blocked shots (77). The senior had one of her best outings of the season last week at LCSC, going 8-of-13 with 18 points and eight boards.
• At 2.1 blocks per game, Clara Robbins is the only player in the CCC posting at least two. The junior is already fourth in team history with 110 career blocks and on track to break a 29-year-old school record of 138 established by Nicole Wirfs. In home games, she is posting 8.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks.
• Sierra Scheppele is sixth among CCC players in 3-point makes per game (2.1) and 11th in 3-point percentage (32.7). She has shot 30-of-81 from 3 in SOU's wins and 2-of-19 in losses.
• The Raiders are 32-4 at home in Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt's three seasons as head coach, including a 6-1 mark this season with an average margin of victory of 17.8 points.

ABOUT CORBAN: The Warriors are sitting in the middle of the pack but seeking their first quality win, having gotten each of their CCC victories over the bottom-four teams in the standings. Maddie Godwin, an All-CCC honorable mention recipient last year, has upped her production to 16.3 points and 2.2 steals per game. SOU is 47-29 all-time against the Warriors and has won five consecutive matchups:

ABOUT BUSHNELL: The Beacons feature two of the premier players in the conference in guard Aspen Slifka (18.1 points, 6.1 rebounds) and forward Libby Mathis (15.2 points, 11.2 rebounds), but their depth – with five of the CCC's top-seven in minutes played and only seven players in their regular rotation – is an issue. They're responsible for Lewis-Clark State's only CCC setback – winning 73-57 on the road behind Slifka's 30 points – but fell by 16 points to lowly Walla Walla on the same road trip. Slifka, approaching 1,600 career points, is a four-time All-CCC performer and is at 20.6 points per game in conference play. The Raiders are 28-6 in the series with Bushnell and have swept the last two season series.