COMING UP: at Corban, Friday, 5:30 p.m.; at Bushnell, Saturday, 3 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: All remaining Lady Owls contests, will be carried live in the Klamath Basin on 104.3/960 Sports with Mike Safford on the call – broadcasts will begin 30 minutes prior to tip-off with the Joy Lease Coaches Show. Live Video of games from the Willamette Valley will be available – Friday via Corban's Team 1 Sports Platform, with Saturday's game at Bushnell live on the Owls Sports Network (produced by BU). Live Stats for both games will be available through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal, with in-game updates be provided on "X" by following @OITWBB.
 
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2023-24 season, including last Tuesday's game vs. SOU, have been posted online via the OIT Women's Basketball Flickr Page, while highlight clips posted online via the new OIT Women's Basketball YouTube Channel.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – CORBAN: The shortest weekend road trip of the year starts at Corban, as the Warriors (8-16, 7-11) are looking to break out of a slump, dropping consecutive games at home to LC State and Walla Walla, part of a string of eight losses in 11 games. The Corban offense is the key, as the Warriors are averaging just 61 points a night – making just 23-percent of their 3-point chances. Guards Madie Godwin (16.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg) and Autumn Agnew (12.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg) are the key to the attack, with point-guard Kirsten Koehnke (5.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and Madison Hodnett (6.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg) the top rebounders.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WARRIORS: The longtime rivals have met 53 times on the hardwood, with Tech holding a 36-17 series lead – with the 88-69 Lady Owls win last month the fifth-straight in the series by OIT. Tech has a 36-17 lead in the series, including wins in five of the last six meetings in Salem.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – BUSHNELL: Tech closes out the road swing in Eugene against a Bushnell team that has won 6-of-7 – keeping their chances of hosting a CCC quarterfinal alive. The Beacons (15-9, 11-7) have a roster of eight – but maximize their efforts with an offense that makes 42-percent of their field goals and a defense that allows just 58 points a game. Guard Aspen Slifka (18.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and 6-foot-3 post Libby Mathis (14.9 ppg, 11.5 rpg) have been the anchors of the squad all season, with guard Ayden Krupke (11.1, 4.4 rpg) providing some offensive punch.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BEACONS: The Lady Owls take a 4-game win streak against Bushnell into Saturday's game – including a 78-45 win in January, the largest victory margin by either team in the 36-game series history. OIT holds a 23-12 series edge against the Beacons, including a 10-6 mark in the Morse Event Center.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE: Tech can clinch a home CCC quarterfinal game with either a victory in one of their final four games or a loss by Bushnell. The Lady Owls sit one game behind Southern Oregon for second place in the standings and two games behind league-leading LC State with four games to play – with the regular-season champ earning an automatic bid to the NAIA Championships. Four teams are battling for the final two playoff spots – as 6-12 Evergreen State and a pair of 5-13 teams (Northwest and Walla Walla) are chasing seventh-place Corban, who faces the gauntlet of OIT, Southern, Eastern and C of I to round out the year.
 
BEST START EVER?: The Lady Owls have secured their best 24-game start in program history, as the 21-3 record in 2023-24 surpassed the previous high-water mark of 20-4 established in 2013-14. Three times (2011-12, 2015-16 and 2016-17), OIT began the season with a 19-5 record.
 
20-WIN SEASONS: Friday's win over Evergreen State secured Tech their 16th 20-win season in program history. OIT has recorded three 20-win seasons, three 21-win seasons, one 22-win season, three 23-win seasons, two 24-win seasons, with the 2015-16 team finishing 26-9 and the 2013-14 team ending the year with a 28-6 record.
 
TECH RANKED NO. 22, FOR NOW: The Lady Owls are expected to drop in the next NAIA Top-25 poll, which will be released on Wednesday – as Southern Oregon was listed ahead of Tech in the most-recent CCC coaches rating. OIT was ranked No. 22 in the previous Top-25 poll, released on Jan. 31 - one of three Top-25 teams in the CCC – joined by No. 7 Lewis-Clark State and No. 24 Southern Oregon.
 
PLAYOFFS CLINCHED: With their victory on Feb. 2 at Multnomah, OIT clinched a Cascade Conference Tournament berth for the 12th-straight season. The Lady Owls will be competing in the postseason for the 27th time, including six NAIA National Tournament appearances (2005, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) and two CCC Tournament titles (2014, 2015). Tech holds a 20-17 all-time mark in the CCC Tournament, which will begin on Feb. 27.
 
BEST SHOOTING NIGHT: Friday's win over Evergreen State was an all-timer for the Lady Owls – as Tech converted over 61-percent of their field goals in the 87-56 victory. It was the Owls best shooting percentage ever in a CCC game and marked the third-highest field goal percentage by an OIT team and the best shooting numbers since 2002 against Trinity Western. The Lady Owls have the top two field goal percentage marks in the CCC this season – with their nine games of 50-percent or better shooting marking No. 2 in program history (the 2015-16 team posted 11 50-percent games).
 
RUN ON THE GLASS: Tech has continued to be the top rebounding club in the CCC, averaging 12.6 rebounds per game more than their foes – ranking No. 5 in the NAIA. That number has grown over the last five games, as the Lady Owls have outboarded their opponents by at least 14 rebounds in each of the games – with OIT pulling down 10-or-more rebounds more than their opponents 17 times this season.
 
AT THE LINE: As a team, the Lady Owls rank No. 19 in the NAIA in free throw percentage, converting over 75-percent of their foul shots. OIT has two of the Top-5 players in the CCC in free throw percentage – as Gabbie Gascon and Olivia Sprague have combined to make 139-of-155 free throws (nearly 90-percent).
 
RAMOS HAS CAREER WEEK: Post Jozie Ramos keyed the OIT attack in the 3-game week, shaking off a rough 6-game stretch to post the best numbers of her freshman season. Ramos had averaged just three points per game and made 6-of-20 field goals over the 6-game run, but found her rhythm at home – recording her first career double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) vs. Southern, adding 15 points vs. Evergreen State and 16 points vs. Northwest. The first-year Lady Owl converted 17-of-26 field goals (53-percent) and made all 13 of her free throw attempts.
 
SPRAGUE CONTINUES BIG JUNIOR SEASON: Another week, another set of outstanding performances from Olivia Sprague – who recorded her ninth game of the year with 20-or-more points vs. Northwest. The junior averaged 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists during the week, making 20-of-38 field goals and 4-of-8 shots from 3-point range. Sprague moved into sixth-place on OIT's all-time scoring list, heading into the week with 1,199 career points.
 
STARTING FORWARDS KEY: Production from the starting forwards were instrumental last week, as both Tatum Schmerbach and Alexis Elquist put up consistent numbers. Schmerbach averaged nine points and eight rebounds per game – including a 15-point, 9-rebound performance against Evergreen State, converting a combined 12-of-22 field goals for the week. Elquist averaged eight points and eight rebounds a game – including a 13-point effort vs. Evergreen State – as the senior is averaging nearly nine rebounds a game over her last six contests.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Playoff positioning is on the line this week, as Lewis-Clark State and Walla Walla host Warner Pacific and Multnomah (the 11th and 12th-place teams), College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon travel to Evergreen State and Northwest, while OIT and Southern head to Corban and Bushnell. Next week marks the final games of the 22-game CCC schedule.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: As a team, OIT leads the CCC in scoring average (76.8), rebound margin (+12.6), defensive field goal percentage (.345) and defensive 3-point percentage (.275), ranking No. 2 in field goal percentage (.459), 3-point percentage (.338), scoring margin (+16.6) and assists per game (17.9). Individually, Olivia Sprague ranks No. 3 in scoring average (17.8) and 3-point percentage (.402), is No. 4 in free throw percentage (.873), No. 5 in assists per game (3.5), No. 7 in steals per game (2.1), No. 9 in rebounds per game (7.0) and No. 10 in blocked shots per game (0.8); Gabbie Gascon is No. 2 in free throw percentage (.917), No. 3 in assists per game (4.0), No. 6 in 3-point percentage (.386), No. 9 in steals per game (.386) and No. 10 in field goal percentage (.467); Jozie Ramos is No. 7 in blocked shots per game (1.0); Tatum Schmerbach is No. 8 in rebounds per game (7.2); with Alexis Elquist No. 10 in rebounds per game (6.8).
 
RECORD BOOK: Six Lady Owls currently rank among the Top-50 in the OIT record book, led by Olivia Sprague, who is No. 6 in points scored (1,199) and 3-pointers made (149), No. 8 in field goals made (427) and field goal attempts (1,010), No. 9 in steals (156), No. 10 in assists (280), No. 11 in 3-point attempts (373), No. 12 in free throws made (196), No. 16 in blocked shots (39), No. 20 in free throw attempts (242), ranking No. 28 in rebounds (408). Kennedy Tull ranks No. 30 in free throws made (152), No. 31 in free throws attempts (201), No. 34 in 3-pointers made (37) and 3-point attempts (113), ranking No. 47 in points scored (493); Gabbie Gascon is No. 22 in assists (174), No. 27 in steals (84), No. 28 in 3-pointers made (50), No. 30 in 3-point attempts (152), No. 32 in free throws made (135) and No. 46 in free throw attempts (153); Alexis Elquist is No. 32 in blocked shots (25), No. 40 in rebounds (289) and No. 49 in 3-pointers made (15) and attempted (57); Kayley Elliott is No. 38 in blocked shots (18), No. 45 in 3-pointers made (17) and No. 50 in 3-point attempts (55); with Jozie Ramos No. 34 in blocked shots (23). Two players rank in the single-season Top-25 record book – as Sprague is No. 17 in points scored (427) and field field goals made (158), ranking No. 20 in field goal attempts (341), with Ramos No. 25 in blocked shots (23).
 
ATTENDANCE NUMBERS: Through 10 home games, the Lady Owls are averaging 897 fans per contest – No. 2 in the NAIA ranks. Tech trails only Carroll College (1,361), with the Owls holding a sizeable lead on No. 3 Concordia-Nebraska (789) and No. 4 Dakota Wesleyan (703). OIT would rank No. 1 in attendance in the NCAA Division III, No. 17 in the Division II and rank 196th of 362 Division I programs – ranking No. 8 among all 4-year college basketball programs in the Northwest (trailing only Oregon, Washington, Oregon State, Washington State, Gonzaga, Idaho and Boise State).
 
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 245-77 overall record, including a 9-1 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 37 times, posting a 34-3 record in the high-scoring contests. The Lady Owls are riding a 93-game win streak when allowing fewer than 50 points in a game, recording a 167-8 record in such games (last loss occurred in 2012, a 42-40 setback at Eastern Oregon).
 
NEXT WEEK: The Lady Owls close out the regular-season at home vs. Lewis-Clark State and Walla Walla. Friday (Feb. 23) vs. LC will have an 11 a.m. start time as part of K-12 Field Trip Day, as we welcome kids to Danny Miles Court from local schools. Saturday (Feb. 24) vs. WWU is Senior Night, with a 7 p.m. start time, as the three seniors (Alexis Elquist, Jenna Wallace and Kayley Elliott) will be honored.