RAIDER WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (14-6, 9-3 CCC)
Jan. 30-31 | Ashland, Ore. (Lithia Motors Pavilion) | Tickets
12 p.m. Friday – vs. Walla Walla (3-15, 1-11) | Stream | Live Stats
3 p.m. Saturday – vs. No. 12 Lewis-Clark State (16-4, 10-2) | Stream | Live Stats

ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon women's basketball team's chances of completing a Cascade Conference three-peat will become much clearer after a homestand headlined by a matchup with first-place Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) this weekend at Lithia Motors Pavilion.

The Raiders (14-6 overall, 9-3 CCC) host Walla Walla (Wash.) (3-15, 1-11) at noon Friday and the No. 12-ranked Warriors (16-4, 10-2) at 3 p.m. Saturday in the middle of a jam-packed CCC title race. SOU is one of four three-loss teams that are a game back of LC State in the standings, and College of Idaho is lingering with four losses.

Cutting down LC State now is imperative, because the Warriors have a major advantage down the stretch: After visiting Oregon Tech and SOU this weekend, they'll face only one team with a winning record, at home, the rest of the way. The Raiders, on the other hand, still have to go play four of the other top-six teams in the standings on the road.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: Those looking for reasons to believe the young Raiders are coming around at the right time found two of them in Washington, where SOU turned in its highest point totals and field-goal percentages of the season while defeating Evergreen, 95-29, and Northwest, 85-68. They hit at a 59% clip to score their widest margin of victory in 10 years at Evergreen, getting 22 points from Bridgette McIntyre and 11 apiece from Millie Day and Eliza DiGiulio. McIntyre starred again with 27 at Northwest, and the Raiders had a 23-11 advantage in the fourth quarter to quell an Eagles comeback bid.

IN THE RANKINGS: The Raiders continued to receive votes in this week's NAIA coaches' poll at No. 40 overall. The CCC again had three teams in the Top 25: No. 12 LC State, No. 15 Eastern Oregon and No. 22 Corban, while College of Idaho and Oregon Tech were also among the vote-getters. In the latest RPI, SOU is No. 34 and LC State leads all conference teams at No. 11. The next Top 25 poll comes out Feb. 11, and a new RPI poll will be released weekly.

BRIEFLY:

• Going by raw numbers, there is an argument to be made that SOU's defense now is even better than that of last year's 34-1 squad. In conference play, the Raiders' CCC-leading defensive rating of 68.5 points allowed per 100 possessions is a whopping nine points better than it was in 2024-25. Their overall defensive rating of 74.4, which ranks 12th in the NAIA, is also superior by a couple points, and they're forcing a league-best 22.7 turnovers per game in CCC play – five more than last year. (One caveat: they've not yet faced the same volume of quality opponents that came with last year's deep postseason run.)
• Considering the Raiders are also second in CCC offensive rebounding (12.8), the only major variable is the offense: When it shows up, they win. They're 12-1 when they shoot at least 33% from the field and 11-0 when they make at least eight 3-pointers. They're hitting an average of 4.5 triples in their losses.
• On the subject of 3-pointers, Bridgette McIntyre shot 11-of-20 downtown while logging back-to-back 20-point games last weekend for the second time this season. The senior guard is averaging three 3-point makes per game – her total of 60 is 16 higher than any other player in the conference and 10th on the national leaderboard – and is just off the 3.1-per-game pace that Remi Mejia stayed used to set the SOU single-season record of 101 in 2017-18. McIntyre is scoring 14.2 points per game, including 13.9 in conference play, to rank sixth in the CCC.
• Keeley Wright is third on the CCC-only assists leaderboard at 3.9 per game, McIntyre is ninth (2.9), and the duo is turning the ball over less frequently than anyone else among the top-10 in that category. Wright is also third in conference steals (2.2) and second on the team in rebounds (4.9).
• Eliza DiGiulio has scored in double figures eight of her last nine games, averaging 13.4 during the stretch. Among CCC players, she's 16th in points (11.8), sixth in 3-point percentage (39.4) and sixth in free-throw percentage (86.1).
• Lydia Traore scored a career-high 14 points in her last outing, a week removed from registering a double-double in her first career start. In conference play, she is second in blocks (1.8), sixth in field-goal percentage (54.8) and 14th in rebounds (5.3). SOU's other Freshman of the Year candidate, Sage Winslow, has put up 11.4 points on 47% shooting, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals in seven games since the Raiders last played LC State. Overall, Winslow ranks second among CCC freshmen in points (9.8) and fourth overall in steals (2.0).
• Fifth-year coach Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt is 87-13 through the first 100 CCC games of her career. The Raiders are 65-7 at home during her tenure.

ABOUT WALLA WALLA: The Wolves lost their 20th game in as many meeting with SOU, 82-47, on Jan. 3. They picked up their lone win against Evergreen and are being limited to 47.7 points per game on 31% shooting. They feature the CCC's third-leading scorer in sophomore guard Jaylo Bello, who is averaging 17.4.

ABOUT LC STATE: The Warriors, seeking their first championship since going back-to-back in 2021-22 and 22-23, have won six games in a row by an average of 24 points since a last-second loss to Oregon Tech on Jan. 3. They returned three starters from last year's team that advanced to the NAIA Tournament's Round of 32 – all-star guards Sitara Byrd (14.2 points, 6.2 rebounds) and Payton Hymas (12.9 points, 4.3 assists), and all-star forward Darian herring (12.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.2 blocks). They're 20th in offensive rating on the NAIA leaderboard and won their first matchup against SOU, 62-47, after storming out to a 30-9 lead behind Byrd's 23 points and seven steals. The Raiders have won the last four matchups in Ashland, the last two CCC Tournament championship games included.