COMING UP: at College of Idaho, Friday, 5:30 p.m. (MST); at Eastern Oregon, Saturday, 3 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Friday's game, along with all remaining Lady Owls contests, will be carried live in the Klamath Basin on 104.3/960 Sports with Mike Safford on the call (Saturday's game at Eastern Oregon will be carried live on Oregon's County Giant 92.5 KLAD-FM in a doubleheader with the men's broadcast) – broadcasts will begin 30 minutes prior to tip-off with the Joy Lease Coaches Show. Live Pay-Per-View Video for both games will be available – Friday via C of I's Team1Sports Platform and Saturday via the Owls Sports Network (produced by EOU). Live Stats for Friday's game will be available through C of I's HTML Stat Portal, with Saturday's stats available through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal. In-game updates for both games will be provided on "X" by following @OITWBB.
 
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2023-24 season, including last Friday's Pink Out, have been posted online via the OIT Women's Basketball Flickr Page, while highlight clips and interviews posted online via the new OIT Women's Basketball YouTube Channel.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – COLLEGE OF IDAHO: The second half of the league schedule opens against College of Idaho, as the Yotes (5-13, 5-7 CCC) have rebounded from a record-setting 0-8 start to the year, going 5-5 over their last 10 games. The 19-player roster for first-year head coach Kyle Erickson has paid off, as C of I is averaging 64 points a game during the league schedule, upping their field goal percentage to 37-percent. Four underclassmen are the key to the Yotes success – sophomore Mia Austin (12.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg) and freshmen Brooke Beresford (8.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg), Kylie Waltermeyer (7.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg) and Anna Mooney (7.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg). The weekend closes a string of six home games for C of I out of eight games played.
 
HISTORY VS. THE YOTES: Tech recorded their most lopsided victory ever against C of I in the December meeting – a 101-66 decision – the fourth-straight win against the Gem State school. OIT has claimed the last two meetings in the Albertson Activities Center, including a come-from-behind, 79-75 win last season. The Yotes hold a 25-23 series lead, including a 15-7 all-time mark in Idaho.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – EASTERN OREGON: The Owls will make the two-and-a-half hour trip Saturday morning to La Grande, as OIT searches for their first series sweep of Eastern Oregon since the 2004-05 season. The Mountaineers (12-4, 8-4) are not the same team that lost to Tech in the Basin six weeks ago – as EOU is averaging nearly 76 points a game in a current 5-game win streak, knocking down nearly nine 3-pointers per game. A 10-player roster has settled in for Anji Weissenfluh's squad, with Brie Holecek (16.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Bayley Brennan (13.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg) combining to connect on 76 3-pointers on the year. All-America forward Beverly Slater (10.8 ppg, 10.6 rpg) is a tough match-up for any opponent, with post Haley Robinett (9.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg) playing well of late.  
 
HISTORY VS. THE MOUNTAINEERS: Quinn Coliseum has been a thorn in the side of the Lady Owls, as OIT looks to snap an 11-game losing streak to Eastern in their venerable arena – dating back to a 58-49 win over the Mounties in January of 2016. The Owls snapped an 8-game overall losing streak to EOU with December's 68-67 victory in Klamath, but trail the all-time ledger with the Mountaineers, 52-21, including a 7-34 record in La Grande.
 
TOUGHEST TRIP OF THE YEAR: The long trek to Caldwell and La Grande rivals that for opposing teams having to return to Klamath Falls and Ashland – as the Lady Owls have struggled for years on this trip. Since C of I and Eastern became travel partners in 2002 – OIT has swept the road swing just twice, claiming road wins over the Yotes and Mounties during the 2002-03 and 2015-16 seasons. On the flip side, Tech has dropped both ends of the weekend doubleheader eight times.
 
BEST START EVER: The Lady Owls head into the weekend with a 16-1 overall record, the best start to a season in program history. Both the 2011-12 and 2013-14 teams opened the year with identical 15-2 marks. OIT is one of six remaining NAIA teams with one loss (two teams – Indiana-South Bend and Reinhardt – remain unbeaten). With the 16 wins, Tech has secured a winning season for the 12th-straight year and the 20th winning season by a Lady Owls team.
 
LADY OWLS RANKED NO. 20: For the first time since the 2019-20 NAIA Division II preseason poll, the Lady Owls entered the Top-25, taking the No. 20 spot in the Jan. 17 rating period. It marked the first regular-season Top-25 appearance by OIT since the final poll of the 2018-19 season and the highest ranking by the Owls since climbing to No. 19 during the 2013-14 campaign – the same year Tech reached their highest ranking at No. 14. OIT was ranked No. 5 in the first NAIA West ARC ballot – behind Carroll, LC State, Providence and Vanguard – the method to determine at-large bids and seeding to the NAIA Championships.
 
AT THE HALFWAY POINT: Friday's game at College of Idaho marks the second half of the CCC schedule – with Tech beginning a string of 11 games against teams they've already faced. In the 11 conference games thus far, the Lady Owls rank among the Top-4 in every CCC team statistical category except one (OIT is No. 8 in 3-pointers made per game). The Owls "Magic Number" to clinch their 12th-straight postseason bid is four.
 
DOMINANT WINS: Tech posted two double-digit wins over the weekend – a 33-point victory over Bushnell and a 19-point win over Corban – with 10 of the Lady Owls 16 victories coming by 15-or-more point margins. OIT dominated the glass, combining to record 45-more rebounds than the two opponents, while in the Corban win, the squad shot 52-percent from the field – their sixth game with a field goal percentage of 50-percent or higher.
 
SPRAGUE CONTINUES SCORING SPREE: For the 18th and 19th-straight games, Olivia Sprague scored in double-figures, leading Tech past Bushnell and Corban. Sprague posted her seventh 20-or-more point game of the season on Saturday, scoring 22 points vs. Corban – the 18th 20-point game of her career. Coupled with the 11-point, eight-rebound performance against BU, Sprague now has 59 double-digit scoring games as a Lady Owl. The junior remains the lone Cascade Conference player in the Top-10 in the five main statistical categories (scoring, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks).
 
GASCON DELIVERS: The breakout season for point-guard Gabbie Gascon continued at home, delivering back-to-back big performances in the Lady Owls victories. The sophomore had seven points, tied a career-high with seven rebounds and posted three assists vs. Bushnell, adding 19 points, three boards and five assists vs. Corban – making 9-of-15 field goals, including 4-of-8 3-pointers, on the weekend. Gascon had four steals in the BU game, the seventh time on the year with 3-or-more steals in a game.
 
SCHMERBACH ON A ROLL: Forward Tatum Schmerbach had another quality weekend in leading the Lady Owls to two home wins. The true freshman had a big night against Bushnell, scoring 13 points, adding six rebounds and four assists, while delivering eight points and six rebounds vs. Corban. Over the last three games, Schmerbach is averaging 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists per game.
 
OFF THE BENCH: Production from the reserves was instrumental in both weekend wins, as OIT held a combined 63-26 edge in bench points. Against Bushnell, senior post Kayley Elliott recorded a career-high 17 points and sophomore guard Chelsea Ching scored a career-high six points in the Friday win. Saturday, sophomore Elli Kent filled the stat sheet with eight points, five rebounds and three assists, with freshman Jozie Ramos adding six points and seven boards in the victory over Corban.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Only four teams have records above the .500 mark in the CCC standings (LC, OIT, SOU, EOU), but seven of the remaining eight teams are separated by just two games in the battle for the final four postseason berths. That race starts this weekend, as Multnomah and Warner Pacific travel to Bushnell and Corban, LC State and Walla Walla head to Northwest and Evergreen, with OIT and SOU off to Eastern and C of I.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: As a team, the Lady Owls lead the CCC in scoring margin (+18.1), defensive field goal percentage (.341), defensive 3-point percentage (.267), rebound margin (+12.7) and assists per game (18.6), ranking No. 2 in field goal percentage (.450), free throw percentage (.752), scoring offense (76.7) and scoring defense (58.6). Individually, Gabbie Gascon leads the CCC in free throw percentage (.937) and assists per game (3.9), ranking No. 6 in both steals per game (2.2) and 3-point percentage (.377); Olivia Sprague is No. 2 in scoring average (18.1), No. 4 in assists per game (3.7) and free throw percentage (.896), No. 6 in rebounds per game (7.4), No. 8 in 3-point percentage (.365) and No. 9 in blocks per game (0.8) and steals per game 2.1); Tatum Schmerbach is No. 8 in assists per game (3.1) and Jozie Ramos is No. 8 in blocks per game (0.9).
 
ATTENDANCE NUMBERS: Through seven home games, the Lady Owls are averaging 953 fans per contest – No. 2 in the NAIA ranks. Tech trails only Carroll College (1,341), with the Owls holding a sizeable lead on No. 3 Concordia-Nebraska (787). OIT would rank No. 1 in attendance in the NCAA Division III, No. 10 in the Division II and rank 187th of 362 Division I programs – No. 3 among all Oregon schools (trailing only Oregon and Oregon State) – with the team averaging more fans per game than all Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Northeast Conference and Patriot League (all NCAA Division I leagues) teams.
 
RECORD BOOK: Six Lady Owls currently rank among the Top-50 in the OIT record book, led by Olivia Sprague, who is No. 9 in points scored (1,080) and 3-pointers made (135), No. 10 in field goal attempts (920) and assists (259), No. 11 in steals (142), 3-point attempts (347) and field goals made (384), No. 18 in free throws made (177), No. 22 in blocked shots (33), No. 28 in free throw attempts (219), ranking No. 32 in rebounds (366). Kennedy Tull ranks No. 31 in free throws made (142), No. 33 in free throw attempts (189), No. 36 in 3-pointers made (32) and 3-point attempts (98), ranking just outside the Top-50 in points scored (446); Gabbie Gascon is No. 30 in assists (146), No. 31 in 3-pointers made (41), No. 32 in 3-point attempts (130), No. 35 in steals (74), No. 37 in free throws made (117) and No. 50 in free throw attempts (132); Alexis Elquist is No. 34 in blocked shots (22), No. 49 in 3-point attempts (54) and just outside the Top-50 in 3-pointers made (13); Kayley Elliott is No. 40 in blocked shots (16), No. 45 in 3-pointers made (17) and No. 49 in 3-point attempts (54); with Jozie Ramos No. 47 in blocked shots (15).
 
SUCCESS AT DANNY MILES COURT: Danny Miles Court has been a difficult place for opponents since Tech brought women's basketball back as a varsity sport in 2002. Over the last 22 seasons, the Lady Owls have won 76-percent of their home dates – posting a stellar 243-76 overall record, including a 7-0 mark this season. The 2012-13 squad finished the year with a 15-1 mark, while a season later, the Owls had a 16-2 record – at one point winning 19-consecutive home games. During the past 21 seasons, OIT had a winning record every season on their home floor.
 
SCORING 90, ALLOWING UNDER 50 EQUAL WINS: OIT has scored 90-or-more points in a game 36 times, posting a 33-3 record in the high-scoring contests. The Lady Owls are riding a 92-game win streak (including Friday's win over Bushnell) when allowing fewer than 50 points in a game, recording a 166-8 record in such games (last loss occurred in 2012, a 42-40 setback at Eastern Oregon).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Lady Owls continue their road trip, heading to Portland for dates at Multnomah (Feb. 2) and Warner Pacific (Feb. 3) – before returning home to host Southern Oregon (Feb. 6) – as OIT plays five of their final seven games in the Basin.