No. 3 RAIDER WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (25-0, 19-0 CCC)
5:30 p.m. Tuesday – vs. No. 22 Oregon Tech (20-5, 16-3) | Live Stats
5:30 p.m. Friday – vs. Warner Pacific (7-19, 4-16) | Live Stats
3 p.m. Saturday – vs. Multnomah (7-19, 5-15) | Live Stats
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ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon women's basketball team already staked its claim to the Cascade Conference title for the second year in a row. On Tuesday night at Lithia Motors Pavilion, the No. 3-ranked Raiders can dash No. 22 Oregon Tech's hopes of sharing it.

SOU (25-0 overall, 19-0 CCC) is home for the final week of the regular season, starting a three-game stand at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday with OIT (20-5, 16-3). If all goes well against the Owls, the Raiders can attempt to complete their first-ever perfect regular season when Warner Pacific (7-19, 4-16) visits at 5:30 p.m. Friday and Multnomah (7-19, 5-15) follows at 3 p.m. Saturday.

POSTSEASON PICTURE: No matter what happens the rest of the way, the Raiders are assured the top seed in the eight-team CCC Tournament that begins next week. That means they'll have homecourt advantage throughout, starting with the Feb. 26 quarterfinal round. The semifinals are set for March 1, the championship for March 4, and all tipoffs are scheduled for 7 p.m. The Raiders have also locked up an automatic bid to play in the 64-team NAIA National Tournament for the fourth year in a row. Based on their ranking, they're in line to be named hosts for the March 14-15 first and second rounds on Feb. 27.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: The Raiders picked up their 21st and 22nd consecutive road wins last week, 94-48 at Walla Walla (Wash.) and 61-52 in the championship clincher at Lewis-Clark State (Idaho). Morgan Baird scored 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting against the Wolves as SOU hit at 60% from the field for the first time since 2017 and had a 44-7 advantage in bench points. A day later, the Raiders earned a trophy with a win against the Warriors for the fourth time in the last four years (including a couple of tournament victories). Meghan McIntyre went for 21 points and four assists, Emma Schmerbach had 17 points and nine boards, and after the Raiders' lead was cut to three points with 4:22 remaining they didn't give up a point the rest of the way.

BRIEFLY:

• SOU is attempting to become the fourth team in history to run the CCC table. Eastern Oregon was the last to do it in 2017-18.
• The Raiders' regular-season winning streak is up to 39 games, including 33 of the conference variety. It dates back to a 14-game streak that made them regular season champs last year. The CCC title is their seventh, and they'd captured back-to-back only once previously (2015-16 and 2016-17). They're one of two remaining undefeated NAIA teams, the other being No. 17 William Carey (Miss.).
• SOU is the only team in the NAIA that ranks top-10 in both offensive rating (110.7 points/100 possessions, 3rd) and defensive rating (76.0 points allowed/100 possessions, 9th). The Raiders' net rating of plus-34.8 is the best out of 227 teams.
• The Raiders rank second nationally in 3-point percentage at 39.7. It's the top clip for any CCC team in seven years.
• Meghan McIntyre's 21-point effort Saturday at LC State, where she made nine of her first 10 field-goal attempts, was a season best. The senior point guard is averaging 14.0 points on 55% shooting over the last four weeks. She has also hit 8-of-12 3-point attempts since the start of February after hitting six total up to that point.
• In CCC play, Emma Schmerbach is the only player among the top-10 in steals (1.6), blocked shots (0.9) and field-goal percentage (49.2). The senior is also top-20 in points (11.3) and rebounds (6.0). At LC State, she held all-star guard Ellie Sander – who scored 36 last month in Ashland – to four points on 2-of-8 shooting.
• Prior to Saturday, Morgan Baird had scored in double figures 19 consecutive outings with four 20-point performances in that span. She is fourth among CCC players in points (14.6), first in field-goal percentage (57.7) and 15th in assists (2.6).
• With 168 blocks, Clara Robbins has 30 more than any other player in team history. She has also taken over the No. 13 spot on the all-time rebounds list with 668.
• Eliza DiGiulio is the CCC's top-scoring reserve at 9.6 points per game on the season and 11.0 on a 55% clip over her last 11 games. Her CCC-only field-goal percentage (52.0) is sixth-best in the circuit.
• The Raiders have shot higher percentages than their opponents every game this season. They've been over 50% 11 times; their opponents have hit that number once.
• The Raiders have faced double-digit deficits four times this year; the largest of those was 19 points at Oregon Tech. They've trailed by no more than three points in 18 of 25 games.
• In Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt's four seasons as head coach, SOU is 40-5 at home. The Raiders' last CCC loss in Ashland was Dec. 20, 2023, to Oregon Tech.

ABOUT OREGON TECH: The Owls are in solid position to return to the NAIA Tournament under second-year coach Joy Lease, but they won't be the same team when they arrive that they envisioned a few months ago. Less than a minute into the season, All-American guard Olivia Sprague sustained a season-ending injury; and three weeks ago, point guard Gabbie Gascon – who'd become the Owls' top scorer in Sprague's absence – suffered the same fate. What's left is a roster short on backcourt firepower – minus Gascon, they're averaging just 3.1 3-pointers per game – but with size that can rival any lineup and is giving them the CCC's top rebounding rate on both the offensive and defensive glass. Two versatile sophomores, Jozie Ramos (12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds) and Tatum Schmerbach (12.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.2), have stepped up to lead the way. Ramos scored 13 in a 65-58 loss to SOU on Dec. 14 in which the Raiders finished with 11 unanswered points. The Raiders lead the all-time series, 45-39, and have won eight of the last nine matchups.