ASHLAND – For the second time in five weeks, Southern Oregon wing Emma Schmerbach was voted the Cascade Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Schmerbach had four steals in the No. 4-ranked Raiders' 89-80 win over No. 19 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) last Friday, including two in the fourth quarter. A night later she went for two blocks, two steals and four defensive rebounds against Walla Walla (Wash.) while helping to hold the Wolves' top scorer to two points on 1-of-9 shooting.

In conference play, the senior from Medford ranks eighth among CCC players in blocks per game (1.0), ninth in steals (1.7) and 17th in rebounds.

Schmerbach has been one of the CCC's top defenders since joining the Raiders in 2022-23. The bigger story this season has been her improved play on the offensive end, where she ranks 14th in points (12.2) and eighth in field-goal percentage (49.7). She is also dishing out 2.9 assists per game in CCC action, the 12th-most in the circuit.

She and the Raiders stand at 17-0 overall and 11-0 in conference play, having won more consecutive games to start a season than any team in program history.

They're home again this week for two more key matchups: 5:30 p.m. Friday against Eastern Oregon (12-5, 8-4) and 3 p.m. Saturday against College of Idaho (10-7, 8-4).