CCC CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY U.S. BANK
WEDNESDAY – QUARTERFINALS
(1) Southern Oregon 77, (8) Evergreen 44
(2) Oregon Tech 69, (7) Corban 52
(3) Lewis-Clark State 75, (6) Bushnell 49
(5) College of Idaho 60, (4) Eastern Oregon 53
SATURDAY – SEMIFINALS
(1) Southern Oregon 66, (5) College of Idaho 46
(3) Lewis-Clark State 63, (2) Oregon Tech 47
TUESDAY – CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m. – (3) Lewis-Clark State at (1) Southern Oregon

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Note: Regular season ticket passes are not valid for CCC Tournament games. Save $2 per ticket by purchasing online at souraiders.com/tickets.

THE MATCHUP: The title game of the Cascade Conference Championship presented by U.S. Bank offers a familiar site: Lewis-Clark State (25-5) standing between Southern Oregon (30-0) and another trophy. The top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Raiders have captured four CCC titles during Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt's tenure as head coach – two in the tournament (2022, 2024), two in the regular season (2024, 2025) – and clinched each of them with wins against the second-seeded and No. 25-ranked Warriors. The latest installment of the blossoming rivalry tips off at 7 p.m. Tuesday inside Lithia Motors Pavilion, as SOU attempts to win the tourney back-to-back seasons for the first time in 22 years.

The Raiders took this year's first matchup 89-80 in Ashland, jumping out to an early 18-point lead before LCSC got it down to six in the second half. They won 61-52 a few weeks ago in Lewiston to lock down the regular-season championship, holding the Warriors scoreless over the final four minutes after their lead was trimmed to three. This is the fourth year in a row the teams have met in the tournament, and the Warriors got their only win of that bunch in the 2023 semifinals. SOU is 6-5 against the Warriors since they joined the conference in 2020.

POSTSEASON PICTURE: No matter what happens Tuesday, both teams have already secured automatic bids to be part of the 64-team NAIA National Tournament field. (A third CCC team, Oregon Tech, is expected to receive an at-large bid.) The bracket will be revealed at 4 p.m. Thursday, and a win against LCSC would all but guarantee the Raiders a No. 1 seed in their quadrant. They learned last week that, like last year, they'll be among 16 hosts for the tournament's first two rounds. SOU will play its Round of 64 game on March 14 at 5:30 p.m., which will be followed by another at 7:30 p.m. The Round of 32 contest at Lithia Motors Pavilion is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start on March 15, and the team left standing will head to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa, to play in the Round of 16 on March 20.

SEMIFINALS IN REVIEW: The Raiders advanced to the championship game for the seventh time in nine postseasons with Saturday's 66-46 win over No. 5 seed College of Idaho. They limited the Yotes to 27% shooting but were up just six points a minute into the fourth quarter when the offense came alive for a 22-3 run that spanned the next eight minutes. Morgan Baird scored nine of her 16 points in the fourth and pulled down seven rebounds, and Bridgette McIntyre shot 3-of-4 from 3 with 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and a pair of fourth-quarter triples.

At No. 2 seed Oregon Tech, the Warriors never trailed in their 63-47 win and outscored the Owls 22-9 in the fourth. Ellie Sander starred with 24 points and six rebounds, shooting 4-of-7 from 3. Mataya Green posted 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, helping to hold the Owls to a 32% clip from the field.

BRIEFLY:

• History indicates a defense-dominated slugfest is on top, but the matchup features two of the best offensive teams in the country. SOU ranks third in offensive efficiency rating (111 points/100 possessions) out of 227 teams in the NAIA, and LCSC is 13th (105/100). On the other hand, SOU is sixth (75.5/100) and LCSC seventh (76/100) in defensive efficiency rating. The Raiders are the only team that is top-10 in both categories.
• In her last four matchups with the Warriors – all Raider wins – All-CCC point guard Meghan McIntyre has averaged 17.8 points on 56% shooting and 4.9 assists.
• Morgan Baird has led the Raiders in scoring each of their last five games, posting 21.2 points on 65% accuracy during the stretch. Among CCC players, she ranks second in points (15.9) and first in field-goal percentage (59.2).
• After another outburst against C of I, Bridgette McIntyre is 14-of-25 from 3 over her last four games. She is at 46% (78-of-169) beyond the arc this season – the second-best clip in the NAIA among those firing at an equal or great volume – and has SOU at No. 2 on the team 3-point percentage (38.8) leaderboard.
• Emma Schmerbach is the only player in the conference among the CCC's top-20 in points (11.8), rebounds (6.0), field-goal percentage (48.7), steals (1.6) and blocked shots (0.7).
• The Raiders are the only undefeated team left in the NAIA after William Carey (Miss.) dropped its conference tourney opener. They're also the first team to reach 30 wins, hitting that mark for the second time in program history.
• The Raiders are 13-0 at home this season and 55-5 in four seasons under Kloppenburg-Pruitt.
• Warriors senior guard Ellie Sander broke the Lithia Motors Pavilion scoring record with 36 on 13-of-17 shooting in the Jan. 17 matchup. At 13.7 points and 3.1 steals per game, she will soon be a two-time All-CCC selection and is joined in a prolific backcourt by Sitara Byrd (10.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.5 steals) and Payton Hymas (9.0 points, 4.1 assists). The Warriors also feature one of the circuit's top all-around players in the frontcourt in Darian Herring (10.2 points, 6.4 rebounds), who is among the CCC's top-eight in assists (3.5), blocks (2.7) and steals (1.9).