COMING UP: at College of Idaho, Friday, 4:30 p.m. (MST); at No. 14 Eastern Oregon, Saturday, 3 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: All OIT women's basketball games for the remainder of the season will be carried live on 104.3-FM & 960-AM in the Klamath Basin and streamed online at MyBasin.com, with Mike Safford on the call – beginning 30-minutes prior to the scheduled tip off. All Cascade Conference games, home and away, will have Live Video via the Urban Edge Network, while Live Stats will be available via OIT's SIDEARM Sports Portal.  
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – COLLEGE OF IDAHO: Tech opens the final road swing of the year at College of Idaho, putting a 4-game win streak in the Activities Center on the line against the Yotes (19-7, 13-5 CCC). C of I was cruising, rattling off 6-straight wins before a Friday loss at Corban, with the team taking a 9-3 home record into the OIT matchup. The Coyotes lead the CCC in rebound margin (+8.0), with the squad holding opponents to just 56 points a game and a 36% shooting clip. A balanced offensive attack is led by guards Kylie Waltermeyer (10.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and Anna Mooney (9.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg), along with forwards Brooke Beresford (9.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and Maiya Hardy (7.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg). C of I snapped a 7-game losing streak to Tech in January, with the all-time series tied at 26-26.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – EASTERN OREGON: The regular-season comes to a close Saturday at Eastern Oregon, as the No. 14-ranked Mountaineers (22-4, 14-4) had a 4-game win streak snapped Saturday at Corban. EOU opened the season, 15-0, thanks to a wide-open offense that averages eight made 3-pointers a game, scoring 71 points a night and among the top rebounding teams in the league. All-CCC forward Kelsie Siegner (14.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 47 blocks) is an outstanding inside-out threat, with guard Maggie Smith (9.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg) complimenting posts Kali Kast (9.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and Haylee Johnson (7.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg). EOU rallied to top OIT, 68-64, in the first meeting, with the Mounties holding a 55-22 all-time series lead – but the Owls claimed last season's game in La Grande, 75-66.
 
METRICS: The Lady Owls are currently No. 4 in the Western ARC rating (new rating to be released late Tuesday) – the key NAIA metric to determine seeding for the NAIA Championships – trailing only Dakota State, LC State and Eastern Oregon (ahead of No. 5 Carroll, No. 7 Southern Oregon, No. 9 Corban and No. 10 C of I). Tech is one of three teams nationally to play 14 Quad 1 games, going 6-8 against the top competition, with the club currently No. 27 in the NAIA RPI and No. 21 in NAIA strength of schedule. All six CCC teams vying for the league crown are rated within the Top-40 of the NAIA RPI.
 
UNPRESCENDENTED 5-WAY TIE: One weekend remains in the Cascade Conference schedule and the Lady Owls could finish anywhere from first to sixth in the final league standings.  Five teams – LC State, Eastern Oregon, Southern Oregon, Corban and OIT each have identical 14-4 records, with College of Idaho a game back at 13-5 – guaranteeing the league will have a champion with 4-or-more losses for the first time since 2014 (Eastern Oregon), with Corban and Concordia recording five losses in their title season in 2011. Tech can clinch the CCC crown, an automatic bid to Nationals and the hosting site of the 8-team league championships with a sweep of the C of I-EOU road trip, along with a LC State win over Corban (as OIT holds head to head tiebreaks with both LC and SOU).
 
PLAYOFF SPOT CLINCHED: With the Jan. 30 win over LCSC, the Lady Owls clinched their 14th-straight playoff appearance and the 29th in program history. OIT is searching for their third-straight NAIA Tournament appearance and ninth overall trip to Nationals.
 
HOME SUCCESS: 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 24 seasons, the Lady Owls have won 76-percent of their home dates – posting a stellar 268-84 overall record – including an 8-3 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. Every season since women's basketball returned to Tech in 2002-03, the Owls have had a winning record every season on their home floor.
 
SWEEP OF SOUTHERN: Last Tuesday's win over Southern marked the first sweep of the Raiders since 2014 and the second sweep of their longtime rival in the last 20 years. The 69 points scored by Tech was the most surrendered by SOU this season, as was the Owls 54% shooting percentage.
 
MORE NUMBERS: The Lady Owls head into the weekend with the No. 8 field goal percentage in the NAIA (.470) – well ahead of the current school record of .449 set in 2022. The efficient shooting has been evident – as OIT is 10-0 this season when making 50% of field goals and is 14-0 when scoring 70-or-more points. The club is also 13-0 when holding an opponent under 65 points, with the Owls heading into the weekend winning nine of their last 10 games overall.
 
SCHMERBACH CONTINUES STREAK: Tatum Schmerbach continues to be in the conversation for CCC Player of the Year, recording her 12th 20-point game and eighth double-double vs. Southern Oregon (26 points, 10 rebounds), while adding 17 points against Warner Pacific. The junior is the only CCC player in the Top-3 in points-rebounds-assists, while also ranking in the Top-10 in field goal and free throw percentage. Schmerbach has recorded 32-straight games with 10-or-more points – the longest stretch of double-digit scoring games since the program returned in 2002, trailing only the marks of Shelly Isaac (41 from 1985-87) and Carmen Arroquero (36 from 1983-85).
 
RAMOS CLOSING IN ON MILESTONE: Post Jozie Ramos continued to be a key factor at both ends of the floor in the two home victories. The junior had 15 points and eight rebounds vs. Southern, adding 12 points vs. Warner Pacific, while combining for three blocks to push her career total to 100. Ramos moved past the 500-rebound mark in the win vs. WPU, while sitting just 26 points away from becoming the 15th player to score 1,000 points in an OIT jersey.
 
SENIORS SHINE: Senior Night was celebrated Friday with great performances from the trio of honorees – Olivia Sprague, Chelsea Ching and Ebony McMillan. Sprague followed up a 12-point, five-assist performance against SOU on Tuesday with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists – combining for nine steals on the week. She moved five assists away from 400 in her career and three rebounds away from the 600-rebound mark. Ching continued a breakout season, scoring nine in the Senior Night win and heads into the week leading the team in 3-point percentage (19-of-38). McMillan played a career-high 21 minutes in her first collegiate start, scoring a career-best 11 points.
 
CAREER NIGHT FOR ANDREWS: Friday was a big evening for post Avery Andrews, who recorded the first double-double of her OIT career in the win over Warner Pacific. The sophomore scored a career-high 17 points, while tying a career-high with 10 rebounds – converting 7-of-10 field goals on the night. Andrews leads the Owls in field goal percentage (.548) – ranking No. 3 in the CCC.
 
AROUND THE CCC: The logjam atop the league standings will be broken on Friday – as Corban plays at LC State, Southern plays at Eastern and Tech heads to College of Idaho – with two or three 4-loss teams remaining for Saturday's final games (Corban at Walla Walla, Bushnell at LC, SOU at C of I and OIT at EOU). Northwest travels to Evergreen before both teams meet Warner Pacific in Portland – with WPU needing a win to clinch the No. 7 seed, while NU is tied with Bushnell for the No. 8 seed heading into the final weekend.   
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: OIT currently leads the CCC in field goal percentage (.470) and assists per game (17.5), ranking No. 2 in rebound margin (+7.4) and No. 3 in scoring offense (74.9). Individually, Tatum Schmerbach leads the CCC in assists per game (4.8), ranking No. 2 in scoring average (18.7), No. 3 in rebounds per game (7.6), No. 6 in field goal percentage (.525) and No. 10 in free throw percentage (.756), with Olivia Sprague No. 4 in assists per game (3.7), No. 7 in steals per game (2.1), No. 8 in free throw percentage (.797), No. 9 in blocks per game (0.8) and No. 10 in scoring average (13.2). Avery Andrews enters the week No. 3 in field goal percentage (.548), Kendall Fealey is No. 5 in field goal percentage (.530) and No. 9 in both steals per game (1.9) and blocks per game (0.8), with Jozie Ramos No. 6 in rebounds per game (6.8), No. 7 in blocks per game (1.1) and No. 9 in free throw percentage (.789).
 
RECORD BOOK: Seven Lady Owls are currently ranked among the Top-50 in the OIT record book, led by Olivia Sprague, who is No. 2 in points scored (1,662), field goals made (590), field goal attempts (1,421) and steals (229), No. 3 in free throws made (282), No. 4 in assists (395), 3-pointers made (198) and 3-point attempts (550),  No. 7 in free throw attempts (348), No. 11 in rebounds (597), No. 14 in blocked shots (59), ranking No. 23 in games played (114). Jozie Ramos is No. 5 in blocked shots (100), No. 7 in free throws made (236), No. 8 in free throw attempts (321), No. 15 in points (974) and field goals made (361), No. 17 in rebounds (501), No. 24 in field goal attempts (717), No. 36 in games played (89), No. 44 in assists (119) and No. 46 in steals (65); Tatum Schmerbach is No. 5 in field goals made (485), No. 8 in rebounds (623) and assists (344), No. 9 in field goal attempts (1,026), No. 10 in points scored (1,153), No. 16 in blocked shots (49), No. 27 in 3-point attempts (166), No. 30 in steals (80), No. 31 in 3-pointers made (45), No. 34 in free throws made (138), No. 35 in free throw attempts (194) and No. 36 in games played (89); Gabbie Gascon is No. 10 in free throws made (233) and steals (146), No. 12 in assists (274), No. 16 in free throw attempts (280), No. 17 in 3-pointers made (83), No. 19 in 3-point attempts (260), No. 23 in points scored (806), No. 37 in field goal attempts (601), No. 39 in field goals made (245), No. 41 in rebounds (315) and No. 45 in games played (79); Kendall Fealey is No. 15 in steals (126), No. 20 in blocked shots (42), No. 28 in assists (160) and No. 36 in games played (89); Chelsea Ching is No. 36 in games played (89), No. 38 in 3-pointers made (30) and No. 40 in 3-point attempts (85); with Brooke Anderson No. 38 in 3-point attempts (90) and No. 43 in 3-pointers made (25). In addition, Schmerbach ranks No. 7 in field goals made (202) and No. 10 in points scored (485) on the single-season record list.
 
TOPS AT THE GATE: The Lady Owls continue to lead the NAIA in attendance, averaging 972 fans per game. OIT ranks ahead of Carroll (905), Midland (775), Montana Tech (616) and LC State (590) among NAIA teams.  
 
SCORING 90, ALLOWING UNDER 50 EQUAL WINS: OIT has scored 90-or-more points in a game 47 times, posting a 44-3 record in the high-scoring contests. The Lady Owls are riding a 105-game win streak when allowing fewer than 50 points in a game, recording a 179-8 record in such games (last loss occurred in 2012, a 42-40 setback at Eastern Oregon).
 
UP NEXT: Tech will compete in the 8-team CCC Championships, beginning next Friday – at the site of the regular-season champion (with game times set for 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.