Women's CCC Basketball Championship Begins Tonight with Quarterfinals
LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Cascade Collegiate Conference will kick off the start of the 2015-16 Women’s Basketball Championship presented by U.S. Bank later today with four quarterfinal games at various campus sites throughout the conference.
No. 8 College of Idaho (9-17, 8-12 CCC) at No. 1 Southern Oregon (26-1, 19-1 CCC)
7 p.m. PST – Ashland, Ore. (Ashland H.S.)
Top-seeded Southern Oregon kicks of their quarterfinal match at home as they host eighth-seed College of Idaho. The Raiders claimed the regular season title, heading into the tournament on a 10-game winning streak.
Southern led the conference in points per game at 88.2 and held the fourth ranked defense, giving up 57.9 points per game. Ashley Claussen led the Raiders with a conference high 18.4 points per game while ranking third in assists and first in steals.
College of Idaho closed out the regular season winning five of their last eight competitions. The Yotes rank fourth in the conference in steals with 8.9 per game and hold the fourth best turnover margin. They are led by Petra Lumpert whos 13.3 points per game is the fifth highest average in the CCC.
No. 7 Warner Pacific (14-12, 9-11 CCC) at No. 2 Oregon Tech (23-7, 16-4 CCC)
7 p.m. PST – Klamath Falls, Ore.
Seventh-seeded Warner Pacific will travel down south to face second-seed Oregon Tech in the second quarterfinal game.
Oregon Tech finished the conference tied with Eastern Oregon at 16-4 in conference play but holds the tiebreaker to claim the second spot. The Owls hold the third highest scoring offense with 71.8 points per game and are tied for the best defense, giving up 54.6 points a game.
Warner Pacific had a great start to their year, starting out 10-1 overall but has since slipped during conference play. They rank sixth in scoring (64.6 points) and fifth in defense, allowing 63 points per game.
No. 6 Northwest (15-15, 10-10 CCC) at No. 3 Eastern Oregon (20-9, 16-4 CCC)
7 p.m. PST – La Grande, Ore.
Eastern Oregon has had one of the top defenses throughout the year, leading them to the third seed in the tournament and a matchup with sixth-seeded Northwest.
Tying with Oregon Tech, Eastern allows the fewest points scored at 54.6 while holding the fourth highest scoring offense in the CCC. The Mountaineers also ranks second in rebounding margin at +7.2, holding their opponents to a conference best 31.6 rebounds per game.
Northwest enters the playoffs on a four game winning streak, defeating Warner Pacific in the final game of the year. The Eagles are led by Jordan Asher whose average of 12.4 points per game ranks ninth in the conference.
No. 5 Corban (16-13, 11-9 CCC) at No. 4 Northwest Christian (18-11, 13-7 CCC)
7 p.m. PST – Eugene, Ore.
Northwest Christian and Corban will face off in the quarterfinals after splitting the regular season series with both teams winning on the road.
The Warriors rank fifth in the conference in points scored per game with 66.7 while the Beacons hold the third best defense, giving up only 57 points per contest. Northwest Christian is the top blocking team in the CCC, totaling 179 blocks thanks to Hanna Mack (66) and Andrea Gloss (52) who are one and two in the conference in blocks respectively.
Corban is led by Jade Lowery with 17.2 points per game, third highest in the CCC, and Sadie Pilgeram who is the top rebounder, averaging 8.7 boards a game.
Tuesday's winners advance to the conference tournament semifinals on Friday night at the campus sites of the top two remaining seeds.