A historic regular season that saw the first team in conference history go 18-0 is in the books as eight teams look to win three in a row and claim the title of 2013 Cascade Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament Champions. The action begins on Tuesday night with all games tipping at 7 p.m. at the site of the higher seed.
#8 Corban at #1 Eastern Oregon
The Mountaineers used a sweep in the Rose City to complete the first 18-0 season in conference history and their reward will be home court advantage throughout the conference tournament. Corban will be the first team visiting La Grande as the Warriors won a tiebreaker over Concordia to claim the eighth and final seed.
EOU is led by 14.7 ppg from Brooke Randall, who also recorded 102 assists in 29 games for the Mounties. Corban is led by sophomore Tara Vanweerdhuizen, who is averaging a double-double with 13.6 ppg and 10.0 rpg, also having recorded 82 blocks for the Warriors.
#7 Northwest Christian at #2 College of Idaho
The Lady Yotes hold the second seed after having yet another strong season under head coach Reagan Rossi and will play host to Northwest Christian in the first round of the conference tournament. The Beacons earned the seventh seed after tying for sixth place but losing a tiebreaker to Evergreen.
College of Idaho is led by 14.2 ppg from CCC Preseason Player of the Year Felicity Jones. Northwest Chrisitan is led by 16.4 ppg from Lindsey Shearer, who is also averaging 8.8 rpg for the Beacons.
#6 Evergreen at #3 Oregon Tech
The Hustlin’ Owls hold the third-seed heading into the postseason and they will welcome sixth-seed Evergreen to Klamath Falls on Tuesday. Oregon Tech swept the season series, winning 64-43 on Jan. 12 in Klamath Falls and 46-35 on Feb. 8 in Olympia.
Oregon Tech is led by 14.1 ppg from Karissa Dixon while Kassi Conditt is chipping in 10.9 ppg and 9.8 rpg to nearly average the double-double. Evergreen is led by 13.3 ppg from Danielle Swain, who sits just eight points away from 1000 for her career.
#5 Southern Oregon at #4 Warner Pacific
Despite a three-game losing streak to wrap up the regular season, Warner Pacific is the fourth seed and plays host to Southern Oregon in the postseason opener. The Knights swept the regular season series, winning 83-77 on Dec. 22 in Portland and 85-80 on Jan. 25 in Ashland.
Warner Pacific is led by 20.0 ppg from Chelsey Chamberlain and a nations-best 219 assists from Nichole Jackson. Southern Oregon is led by 19.1 ppg from Melissa Sweat, a transfer from NCAA DI San Diego State.
The winners of Tuesday’s first round games will meet on Friday night at the campus sites of the two highest remaining seeds. Friday’s winners will then face off on Monday night for the tournament championship at the campus site of the highest remaining seed.