COMING UP: at Cascade Conference Championships, presented by U.S. Bank (Salem, Ore. ) – Friday vs. College of Idaho, 7 p.m.; Saturday (with win), vs. Corban or Northwest, 5 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. Ticket prices are $20 per session (OIT plays the Friday afternoon session) for adults and $5 for children and students.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – COLLEGE OF IDAHO: The postseason begins with a rematch from a week ago, as Tech is paired with College of Idaho in a No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup. The Yotes (21-7) have won 8-of-9, including the 60-57 victory over Tech on Friday, earning their first 20-win season in 13 years. C of I leads the CCC in rebound margin (+8.0), with the squad holding opponents to just 56 points a game and a 36% shooting clip. On the other end of the floor, the Coyotes average 71 points a game and are coming off a weekend where they averaged 10.5 made 3-pointers in the sweep of OIT and Southern Oregon. CCC Player of the Week, Kylie Waltermeyer (11.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg), is the only player averaging in double figures, with guard Anna Mooney (9.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg), along with forwards Brooke Beresford (8.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and Riley Beck (8.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg) key in the paint. C of I swept the regular-season series and now holds the all-time series lead at 27-26.
PLAYOFF HISTORY VS. C OF I: The two teams have met seven previous times in the postseason, with OIT holding a slim 4-3 edge. It is the sixth time they have met in the CCC quarterfinals – with the Lady Owls winning in 2003 (60-57), 2006 (67-46) and 2018 (60-57) – all in Klamath, while C of I won in 2008 (63-44) and 2009 (63-41) in Caldwell. The teams met twice in the semifinal round, with the Yotes claiming a 37-36 win in Klamath in 2005, while Tech won the matchup in 2014, 77-73, en route to the CCC tourney title.
IF THE LADY OWLS WIN: For the second-straight year, the CCC Tournament will be a straight bracket – with the OIT-C of I winner meeting the winner of the No. 1-8 seed match-up between Corban and Northwest. Corban (23-5) claimed the regular-season title, winning a tiebreaker with Eastern Oregon – while also earning the host site for the event. The Warriors enter the postseason winning 10 of their last 11 games, paced by an offensive attack averaging 81 points per game and averaging 10 made 3-pointers a night. Guards Jersey Huerta (18.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg) and Jenna Albrecht (14.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg) run the offense, along with post Emilia Bishop (11.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg). Corban swept the regular-season series, but Tech won the last postseason match-up, 61-44, in the 2025 quarterfinals. Northwest (10-18) earned the No. 8 seed after ending the season with a road win at Warner Pacific to move past Bushnell in the standings, with the Eagles using the 3-point shot (average nine 3's a game at a 33% clip) to their advantage. The guard line of Kaleah Medeiros (12.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg), Elli Bost (11.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and Jersey McGehee (9.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg) are the key to the NU success. Tech won both regular-season meetings with the two sides last meeting in the playoffs in 2017.
POSTSEASON HISTORY: OIT has advanced to the postseason each of the last 14 years, with 2026 marking the 29th all-time postseason appearance. The Lady Owls are 22-19 all-time in the CCC Championships, having reached the semifinals each of the last three seasons. Tech claimed tourney titles in 2014 and 2015, with the current club gunning for their ninth NAIA National Tournament appearance.
ONE SITE: Beginning this year, the Cascade Conference is using a pilot program for a single-site CCC Championship in women's basketball – hosted at the C.E. Jeffers Center. Each of the four quarterfinal games will be played on Friday, both semifinals on Saturday, with the title game set for Monday at 5:30 p.m. The tournament winner will claim the CCC's second bid to the NAIA Championships – if Corban wins the crown, that Eastern Oregon, as the regular-season runners-up will earn the second bid.
SCHEDULE: Friday – No. 3 Lewis-Clark State vs. No. 6 Southern Oregon, 12 p.m.; No. 2 Eastern Oregon vs. No. 7 Warner Pacific, 2 p.m.; No. 1 Corban vs. No. 8 Northwest, 5 p.m.; No. 4 College of Idaho vs. No. 5 Oregon Tech, 7 p.m. Saturday will feature No. 1-8 winner vs. No. 4-5 winner and the No. 2-7 winner vs. No. 3-6 winner, with times to be determined.
METRICS: The Lady Owls are currently tied with Carroll in the No. 4 position in the Western ARC rating – the key NAIA metric to determine seeding for the NAIA Championships – trailing only Dakota State, Corban and Eastern Oregon. Tech is one of three teams nationally to play 16 Quad 1 games, going 6-10 against the top competition, with the club ranked No. 34 in the NAIA RPI and No. 13 in NAIA strength of schedule. All six CCC teams vying for the league crown are rated within the Top-40 of the NAIA RPI.
TOUGH TRIP EAST: OIT closed out the regular-season with a pair of tough losses on the long College of Idaho-Eastern Oregon road swing. Against C of I, the Lady Owls faced a buzz-saw, as the Yotes made their first six 3-pointers and finished the night 11-of-23 from long range – yet Tech had a last second shot rim out that would have forced overtime. At EOU, a physical game favored the Mounties, as the hosts used a 24-8 edge in made free throws in an 82-69 win in La Grande.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE: Forward
Tatum Schmerbach heads into the postseason one of the favorites for Cascade Conference Player of the Year – currently ranking among the Top-4 in the CCC in scoring average (18.5), rebound average (7.6) and assists per game (4.8) – having scored 20-or-more point 13 times this season, including 20 in Friday's loss at C of I. The junior has recorded 34-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) on the exclusive list.
SPRAGUE ALL ALONE: Olivia Sprague surpassed two milestone marks on the recent road trip – pushing past the 600-rebound and 400-assist mark in her OIT career. The fifth-year player is the only player in Tech history to score over 1,500 points, record 600 rebounds and 400 assists in a Lady Owls uniform. Sprague made her 200th 3-pointer in last week's game at C of I, the fourth player to achieve the mark.
RAMOS NEARS 1,000: Junior
Jozie Ramos is on the cusp of a major career mark, sitting 10 points away from becoming the 15th Lady Owl to score 1,000 points in a career. Ramos looks to reach the milestone in Salem, where the post has averaged 14 points per game inside the Jeffers Center during her Tech career.
MORE FROM THE TRIP: The Lady Owls got a big boost on Friday night from
Kendall Fealey, scoring 11 points and adding seven rebounds – including a career-high six offensive board. One night later, it was
Ayla Marston and
Avery Andrews providing the punch – Marston tying a career-high with 15 points, while Andrews scored 12 in the road loss.
LEAGUE LEADERS: As a team, OIT leads the CCC in field goal percentage (.467), ranking second in rebound margin (+7.1) and No. 3 in scoring offense (74.0), free throw percentage (.737) and assists per game (17.0). Individually,
Tatum Schmerbach leads the CCC in assists per game (4.7), is No. 2 in scoring average (18.5), No. 4 in rebounds per game (7.6) and No. 6 in field goal percentage (.512), with
Avery Andrews No. 2 in field goal percentage (.552).
Olivia Sprague enters the CCC Tournament No. 4 in assists per game (3.7), No. 7 in steals per game (2.0), No. 9 in scoring average (13.2), free throw percentage (.803) and blocks per game, while ranking No. 10 in rebounds per game (5.9),
Jozie Ramos is No. 6 in rebounds per game (6.6) and blocks per game (1.1), ranking No. 10 in free throw percentage (.785), with
Kendall Fealey No. 9 in both steals per game (0.9) and blocks per game (0.9).
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 (1,688), field goals made (600), field goal attempts (1,447) and steals (231), No. 3 in free throws made (284), No. 4 in assists (401), 3-pointers made (202) and 3-point attempts (559), No. 7 in free throw attempts (350), No. 10 in rebounds (612), No. 13 in blocked shots (60), ranking No. 20 in games played (116).
Jozie Ramos is No. 5 in blocked shots (102), No. 7 in free throws made (238), No. 8 in free throw attempts (324), No. 15 in points (990) and field goals made (368), No. 17 in rebounds (511), No. 23 in field goal attempts (729), No. 35 in games played (91), No. 43 in assists (121) and No. 46 in steals (65);
Tatum Schmerbach is No. 5 in field goals made (499), No. 7 in rebounds (638), No. 8 in points scored (1,187), assists (351) and field goal attempts (1,063), No. 16 in blocked shots (51), No. 27 in 3-point attempts (169), No. 29 in steals (83), No. 31 in 3-pointers made (45), No. 34 in free throws made (144) and free throw attempts (202), ranking No. 35 in games played (91);
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. 26 in assists (164) and No. 35 in games played (91);
Chelsea Ching is No. 35 in games played (91), No. 38 in 3-pointers made (30) and No. 40 in 3-point attempts (87); 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.
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: The NAIA will announce the 64-team field for the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship next Thursday at 5 p.m. (PST) – with tournament play beginning March 13.
