COMING UP: at Warner Pacific, Friday, 5:30 p.m.; at Multnomah, Saturday, 3 p.m.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: All 22 Cascade Conference games will be broadcast live on radio in the Klamath Basin on 104.3-FM and 960-AM, beginning with the Joy Lease Coaches' Show 30-minutes prior to tip-off – simulcast online with audio through MyBasin.com. Both games will be streamed online – Friday through Warner Pacific's YouTube Channel and Saturday through Multnomah's HUDL-TV page - with Live Stats available through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal. For fans traveling to Portland – neither Warner Pacific, nor Multnomah accept credit cards for admission, only cash, with tickets $7.00 at Multnomah and $5.00 at WP.
 
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2024-25 season, including the Jan. 3 game vs. Northwest are posted online via the OIT Women's Basketball Flickr Page - while highlight clips – including the weekend wins over Northwest and Evergreen State, have been posted online via the OIT Women's Basketball YouTube Channel.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – WARNER PACIFIC: The Lady Owls put a 6-game road win streak on the line Friday at Warner Pacific, facing a Knights (6-8, 3-5 CCC) team that has won 3-of-5 games. WPU does not have a player on their roster taller than 5-foot-10 – with the team averaging 58 points per game, making 36% of their field goal attempts, while turning the ball over 18 times a night. The Knights feature a balanced scoring attack, led by Skylar Groesbeck (10.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg), Amalya Salas (10.1 ppg, 2.6 apg) and Emily Fortin (8.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 24 3FGM), with forward Alexa Mee (4.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg) the top rebounders. OIT holds a 44-22 all-time series lead, including 4-straight wins – all by 24-or-more points.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – MULTNOMAH: The weekend ends at the Multnomah Campus of Jessup University (as Multnomah was purchased last spring by Jessup of California and now serves as a satellite campus), as the Lions (5-9, 3-5) are searching for their first home win of the year (0-5). MCJU loves to shoot the 3-pointer, averaging nearly nine 3-point makes a game and averages 69 points a night – but the 7-player squad has been outrebounded by eight boards a night. The guard trio of Jersey Huerta (19.6 ppg, 4.2 apg, 26 3FGM), Makayla Torkornoo (10.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 31 3FGM) and Reya Lee (9.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 33 3FGM) are complemented by 6-foot forward Gracie Browning (8.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg). OIT puts an 18-0 all-time record on the line in the series, including 10 wins in Portland.
 
JUMPING OUT QUICK: Tech held serve at home, rolling to convincing wins over Northwest and Evergreen State, extending their win streak to 4-in-a-row. The Owls jumped out quick in both games – taking 47-17 and 40-19 leads at halftime – extending a streak of 11-straight games with an opponent scoring under 28 points in the first half. OIT heads into the weekend riding a 6-game streak of games boasting a double-digit halftime lead.
 
DEFENSE THE KEY: Defense has fueled Tech's 10-3 start to the year – as the Owls have held opponents under 41% shooting in all 10 victories – including a season low 26.7% in Friday's win over Northwest. In the two weekend wins, OIT combined for force 52 turnovers, turning the miscues into 62 points – recording a season-high 19 steals in the win over Evergreen State.
 
OFFENSE ROLLING: The Lady Owls offense played at a high-level at home – improving their conference-only field goal percentage to 44%. Against Northwest, OIT converted 51% of their field goals, scoring over 80 points for the fourth time this season, while for the weekend, converted 11-of-29 3-point attempts, with their CCC-only 3-point percentage (.383) is tops in the circuit. The club shared the basketball, recording 44 assists on 65 made baskets.
 
SCHMERBACH LEADS CHARGE: Tatum Schmerbach continued a banner sophomore season, anchoring the Lady Owls attack at both ends of the floor. Schmerbach made 11-of-20 field goals in the two victories – scoring a game-high 18 points vs. Northwest and adding 10 points vs. Evergreen State, while combining for 14 total rebounds. The wing added nine assists, five steals and a blocked shot to her ledger – ranking among the CCC's Top-20 in scoring, rebounding and assists.
 
ANDERSON BREAKS OUT: Freshman point-guard Brooke Anderson had her best weekend of the year, recording career-highs for points and rebounds. Anderson converted 5-of-8 field goals against Northwest, scoring 12 points, while against Evergreen State, tallied three points, two steals and a team-high eight rebounds in 16 minutes of action.
 
WRIGHT HAS CAREER WEEKEND: The Lady Owls got a big spark off the bench from Kaitlyn Wright, recording career-highs in both weekend wins. The junior had three assists and five steals in Friday's win over Evergreen State, following it with a team and career-high 14 points in the Saturday win over Northwest, converting 7-of-10 field goal attempts.
 
SUPERLATIVES: Both Kendall Fealey and Maddyson Tull were instrumental in the win over Evergreen State – Fealey scoring a career-high 12 points, with Tull recording 10 points and five rebounds. Point-guard Gabbie Gascon posted three steals in both weekend games – with the league-leader in steals having recorded 3-or-more steals in 8-of-13 games this season. True freshmen Avery Andrews and Annie Campos contributed in the win over Northwest – each scoring four points with two rebounds.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE:  Each of the Top-5 teams in the league standings posted unbeaten weekends – with Southern Oregon extending their win streak to 13, College of Idaho winning their fifth in a row, with Eastern and OIT running win streaks to four. In addition, Walla Walla logged their first league win, a victory at Multnomah. This weekend, slumping Corban and Bushnell head to LC State and WWU, EOU and C of I travel to Northwest and Evergreen State, with OIT and SOU playing at Warner Pacific and Multnomah.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: As a team, Tech leads the CCC in rebound margin (+9.8), ranking No. 2 in assists per game (17.1) and steals per game (10.8), No. 3 in scoring offense (72.9), scoring margin (+14.5), field goal percentage (.419), defensive field goal percentage (.362), blocks per game (3.8) and turnover margin (+4.9), No. 4 in scoring defense (58.5), No. 5 in 3-point percentage (.304) and No. 10 in free throw percentage (.636). Individually, Gabbie Gascon and Tatum Schmerbach are tied for the league lead in assists per game (4.3), with Gascon ranked No. 1 in steals per game (3.1), No. 8 in free throw percentage (.729) and No. 10 in scoring average (12.8). Jozie Ramos is No. 5 in field goal percentage (.495) and No. 8 in blocks per game (0.8), Alexis Elquist is No. 6 in rebounds per game (8.2) and No. 7 in blocks per game (0.9), Kennedy Tull is No. 4 in free throw percentage (.813), with Kendall Fealey No. 8 in steals per game (2.0).
 
NATIONAL LEADER IN ATTENDANCE:  The Lady Owls continue to dominate the NAIA in attendance – averaging 974 fans for the four home dates this season – well ahead of Lewis-Clark State (641), Carroll (581), Evangel (569) and Concordia (461). Tech ranks No. 7 among all Northwest basketball playing schools in attendance (Gonzaga – 5,120, Oregon – 5,120, Oregon State – 4,583, Washington – 2,040, Boise State – 1,706, Idaho – 1,107, Oregon Tech – 974, Washington State – 935, Idaho State – 856, Portland – 751) and No. 3 among all Oregon schools (UO – 5,120, OSU – 4,583, OIT – 974, UP – 751, Portland State – 398, Southern Oregon – 365, George Fox – 215, Linfield – 165, Willamette – 156, Corban – 152.
 
POLL POSITION: The Lady Owls remained as the third team in the "others receiving votes" category in latest Top-25 poll, released on Dec. 11. Tech received 65 voter points from the 20 conference raters – one of three CCC teams in the poll – No. 4-ranked Southern Oregon and No. 13 Lewis-Clark State. as are two preseason opponents – No. 1 Dordt and No. 19 Arizona Christian. OIT climbed to No. 13 in the second NAIA RPI rating of the season, with the club holding the No. 15 strength of schedule in the association – tops among Cascade Conference teams. The next Top-25 poll will be released on Jan. 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 past 23 seasons, the Lady Owls have won 76-percent of their home dates – posting a stellar 252-79 overall record – including a 4-1 mark this year. 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. Every season since women's basketball returned to Tech in 2002-23, the Owls have had a winning record every season on their home floor.
 
RECORD BOOK: Eight Lady Owls are currently ranked among the Top-50 in the OIT record book, led by Olivia Sprague, who is No. 2 in field goal attempts (1,133), No. 3 in steals (179), No. 4 in points scored (1,344), field goals made (478) and and 3-pointers made (165). No. 5 in 3-point attempts (427), No. 7 in free throws made (223), No. 8 in assists (306), No. 13 in free throw attempts (274), No. 18 in games started (76), No. 19 in rebounds (459) and blocked shots (40), ranking No. 33 in games played (90). Maddyson Tull is No. 3 in field goals made (485), No. 6 in free throw attempts (316), No. 8 in points scored (1,172), No. 10 in rebounds (560), No. 11 in field goal attempts (925), No. 15 in free throws made (195), No. 17 in blocks (42), No. 22 in games played (110) and No. 49 in assists (99); Kennedy Tull ranks No. 16 in free throws made (194), No. 17 in free throws attempts (253), No. 27 in 3-pointers made (52) and 3-point attempts (164), No. 29 in games played (97), No. 36 in points scored (676), No. 40 in assists (124), ranking No. 43 in field goals made (214) and No. 44 in field goal attempts (495); Gabbie Gascon is No. 10 in free throws made (208), No. 12 in assists (243), No. 14 in steals (133), No. 19 in free throw attempts (250), No. 20 in 3-point attempts (238), No. 21 in 3-pointers made (77), No. 28 in points scored (739), No. 39 in field goals made (227) and field goal attempts (552), ranking No. 43 in rebounds (285); Alexis Elquist is No. 14 in blocked shots (44), No. 24 in rebounds (432), No. 42 in 3-point attempts (71), No. 45 in field goals made (185) and 3-pointers made (18), ranking No. 50 in field goal attempts (448); Jozie Ramos is No. 14 in blocked shots (44) and No. 46 in free throws made (96), Tatum Schmerbach is No. 32 in assists (141), No. 36 in blocked shots (22), No. 41 in rebounds (302), No. 43 in 3-point attempts (70) and No. 45 in 3-pointers made (18); with Kendall Fealey No. 38 in steals (69). Elquist is just outside the Top-50 in points (433), Ramos is just outside the Top-50 in rebounds (207), free throw attempts (131) and points (392), with Schmerbach just outside the Top-50 in points (409).
 
SCORING 90, ALLOWING UNDER 50 EQUAL WINS: OIT has scored 90-or-more points in a game 39 times, posting a 36-3 record in the high-scoring contests. The Lady Owls are riding a 97-game win streak when allowing fewer than 50 points in a game, recording a 171-8 record in such games (last loss occurred in 2012, a 42-40 setback at Eastern Oregon).
 
UP NEXT: The Lady Owls return to the Basin to open their longest homestand of the season, beginning Jan. 17 against Walla Walla for the second-annual K-12 Field Trip Game – with tip-off set for 11 a.m.