LA GRANDE, Ore. – One of the most exciting weeks in the Cascade Conference is set to begin as the 2015 Women’s Basketball Championship presented by U.S. Bank tips off tonight at campus sites around the conference.
No. 8 Concordia (12-15, 6-12 CCC) at No. 1 Eastern Oregon (24-5, 16-2 CCC)
7 p.m. PST – La Grande, Ore.
The first game in the conference tournament features top-ranked Eastern Oregon hosting eighth-seeded Concordia. Eastern rode a 10-game win streak to finish as conference regular season champions and earn the top spot in the postseason.
Eastern boasts the best defense in the conference allowing only 56.1 points per contest and holds the second most in scoring average with 76.7 points per game. EOU is led by freshman Maya Ah You who averages 11.9 points per game and senior Kassy Larson with 11.8 points per game.
Concordia’s Sierra Dean ranks seventh in the conference in scoring average with 12.6 points per game. Janea Klarich has been the top distributer for the Cavaliers totaling 116 assists this year with an average of 5.8 per game, the highest assist average in the conference.
No. 7 College of Idaho (8-19, 7-11 CCC) at No. 2 Southern Oregon (25-3, 15-3 CCC)
7 p.m. PST – Ashland, Ore.
Seventh-seeded College of Idaho looks to find a way to stop the highest scoring offense in the conference as they head down south to take on second-seeded Southern Oregon.
Southern holds the high scoring offense (84.5 points per game), the best field goal percentage (.478), the best 3-point percentage (.369) and the highest assist average with 19.1 per game. SOU is led by senior forward Alexi Smith (13.8), junior Carly Meister (11.9) and sophomore Autumn Durand (11.8).
Senior Elisha Hensey leads the Yotes with 12.6 points and 3.4 assists per game while senior Aleah Lowber adds 10.6 points per game. Hensey is also second in the conference in steals totaling 61 on the season.
No. 6 Northwest Christian (12-14, 8-10 CCC) at No. 3 Corban (17-13, 11-7 CCC)
7 p.m. PST – Salem, Ore.
Coming off a three-game losing streak, third-seeded Corban looks to bounce back in the playoffs as they play host to sixth-seeded Northwest Christian.
Corban ranks fifth in scoring offense (65.7 points per game) and fourth in defense allowing 61.4 points scored per contest. Corban is led by senior Tara Van Weerdhuizen (13.5) who leads the conference in blocked shots totaling 102 on the season and in rebounding average with seven per game.
The Beacons are led offensively by senior Melyssa Weber (10.1) and junior Chandler Gabrio (9.2). Senior guard Hannah Frederick finished the regular season with the third highest assist average with 4.4 per game.
No. 5 Oregon Tech (20-10, 9-9 CCC) at No. 4 Evergreen State College (16-9, 10-8 CCC)
7 p.m. PST – Olympia, Wash.
Oregon Tech finished the regular season weekend with two wins to earn the fifith-seed in the tournament and will prepare to travel north to face off against fourth-seeded The Evergreen State College.
Evergreen State holds the fourth highest scoring offense (65.8) and the third best defense allowing only 58.5 points per game. The Geoducks are led by two of the top scorers in the conference in LaNiecia Weatherspoon (14.3) and Sadee Jones (14.0).
Oregon Tech averages the third most points scored in the conference (66.1) and allows the second fewest points (57.0), only behind top-seeded EOU. Junior guard Karly LeVeque leads the Owls with 11.7 points per game followed by junior Tess Armstrong with 9.6 points per game.
Tuesday's winners advance to the conference tournament semifinals on Friday night at the campus sites of the top two remaining seeds.