It was an exciting first round of the 2013 Cascade Conference Women’s Basketball Championship but the action looks to be even more exciting in the semifinal round as four schools look to advance to Monday’s Championship game and a potential automatic qualifier for the 2013 NAIA Championship.
#5 Southern Oregon at #1 Eastern Oregon
Eastern Oregon improved to 19-0 against Cascade Conference competition with an 81-67 win over Corban but it didn’t come easily as the Mounties were up by just four points at halftime against the eight-seed Warriors. EOU was led by 25 points from guard Brooke Randall and 16 points off the bench from Jorie Freeman.
Southern Oregon was the lone road team to win in the first round of the tournament as the fifth-seed Raiders knocked off fourth-seed Warner Pacific, 71-64. SOU was led by 23 points and 10 rebounds from Alexi Smith and 21 points from Melissa Sweat.
Eastern defeated Southern in both matchups this season, winning by an average of 20 points.
#3 Oregon Tech at #2 College of Idaho
The Lady Yotes also had a great test on Tuesday as seventh-seed Northwest Christian gave second-seed College of Idaho nearly all they could handle. After trailing by a point at halftime, C of I held NCU to just 23 points in the second half to maintain home court advantage and advance in the conference tournament. The Yotes were led by 21 points and 12 rebounds from Felicity Jones and 12 points each from Dayna Drager and Laura Geis. Chakala Carthen helped out on the glass, picking up 10 rebounds for College of Idaho. Just seven players appeared in the game for the Lady Yotes, perhaps giving them a deeper bench headed into the semifinal.
Oregon Tech earned their spot in the semifinal round with a 63-44 win over Evergreen. The Hustlin’ Owls shot an impressive 66.7% in the second half to pull away from the Geoducks. OIT was led by 14 points from Kassi Conditt and 12 points from Karissa Dixon.
The Owls and Lady Yotes split their series in the regular season. Oregon Tech earned the 61-58 win on Dec. 14 in Klamath Falls while College of Idaho picked up a 66-44 win on Jan. 19 in Caldwell.
The two semifinal winners will meet on Monday for the 2013 Cascade Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship. The highest finishing team outside of the regular season champion receives an automatic bid to the 2013 NAIA Championship Tournament.