No. 4 RAIDER WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (6-0)
4:30 p.m. Friday – at College of Idaho (2-3) | Stream | Stats
3 p.m. Saturday – at Eastern Oregon (4-1) | Stream | Stats

ASHLAND – The No. 4-ranked Southern Oregon women's basketball team begins its Cascade Conference championship defense in earnest this weekend with the most demanding road trip on the circuit schedule.

A 6-0 run through nonleague play, which included a pair of top-six wins and four blowouts, all away from home, cemented the Raiders' status as CCC favorites. They'll remain on the road for the duration of December, starting Friday at College of Idaho (2-3) and Saturday at Eastern Oregon (4-1). The Yotes have looked improved early under second-year coach Kyle Erickson – they pushed No. 6 Providence (Mont.) in a 10-point loss last week – and the Mountaineers are expected to contend again after qualifying for the NAIA Tournament last year for the third consecutive season.

BRIEFLY:

• That the Raiders are giving up just 55 points per game on 34% shooting is unsurprising: they've had NAIA top-seven defensive ratings two of the last three seasons. The offense is a different story, standing as the sixth-most efficient (1.1 point/possession) in the country. Last season they ranked 72nd in that category. They're outscoring opponents by 27.3 points per game, posted their highest scoring total (106 points) in five seasons a few weeks ago, and in their most recent outing knocked down the second-most 3-pointers (17-of-35) in team history. They've scored 70-plus points in all six games; they didn't have their sixth 70-point outing last season until Jan. 19.
• Emma Schmerbach leads the team at 14.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Compared to last year, the senior wing is averaging 9.6 more points, shooting dramatically better from the field (54.5% to 35.1%) and has already made four more 3-pointers (5-of-11).
• Morgan Baird, a senior transfer, sat the last two games due to injury but is expected to return this weekend. In the forward's last two outings, she shot 18-of-24 from the field combined and averaged 19 points. In her absence two weeks ago, junior Eliza DiGiulio stepped in to provide a career-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
• All-CCC point guard Meghan McIntyre's offensive usage has dropped slightly with SOU's new weapons – she's still averaging 11.0 points and 4.0 assists – but defensively she leads the league in steals (4.3/game). Last year she was the only CCC player to rank top-six in points, assists and steals. Her sister, newcomer Bridgette McIntyre, is adding 10.7 points and leads the Raiders with 17 3-pointers on 40.5% accuracy.
• Clara Robbins broke SOU's 29-year-old career blocks record last month. The senior's total is up to 141, and with 576 rebounds she has moved to No. 16 on that list.

ABOUT C OF I: The Raiders have won five straight and eight of their last nine games against C of I, moving to 42-29 in the all-time series. A tough preseason schedule, which included losses to three Frontier Conference teams, saw the Yotes shoot just 33.6% as a team. But they returned their two leading scorers, All-CCC honorable mention guard Mia Austin (8.0 points) and sophomore forward Brooke Beresford (10.2 points, 5.6 rebounds). The roster got its biggest boost from point guard Taryn Riley, who used an injury redshirt last year after scoring 10 per game in 2022-23, though she an Austin are both shooting 30% early.

ABOUT EOU: SOU's win last year at EOU – a 65-63 game decided by Meghan McIntyre's bucket in the final seconds – was its first of the regular-season variety in La Grande in 15 years. The Raiders swept the season series (including a CCC Tournament semifinal win) and are now 48-52 overall against EOU. The Mountaineers present a considerable obstacle again, having already scored a Top 25 win at Carroll (Mont.). They lost four starters, but All-CCC performer Brie Holecek (12.2 points, 5.8 rebounds) is back and junior Kelsie Siegner (14.2 points, 6.4 rebounds) has made a leap, more than doubling her scoring output of a year ago. They're limiting opponents to 38% shooting and only 58.2 points per game.