Bushnell will play in the semifinals of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank on Friday evening, taking on the reigning conference-champion Lewis-Clark State College Warriors at 7:00 pm.
 
#4 BUSHNELL (19-12, 15-7) vs. #1 LC STATE (26-3, 19-3)
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HOW WE GOT HERE: Bushnell knocked off Oregon Tech on Tuesday, 83-77, in a dramatic quarterfinal fight that went to overtime. Senior Morgan McKinney knocked down a pair of free throws with 1.7 seconds remaining in regulation, and then combined with Libby Mathis for 13 points in overtime.
 
McKinney scored 13 points alone between the fourth quarter and overtime as Bushnell erased a 12-point third-quarter deficit. She finished with a season-high 24 points, career-high 14 rebounds, and game-high six assists.
 
Mathis wasn't far behind, scoring 23 points on 10-for-12 shooting, adding eight rebounds and three steals. She played the final 14 minutes with four fouls. Aspen Slifka scored 13 points and Kalina Rojas added ten as Bushnell out-scored the Owls 46-28 in the paint.
 
HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Warriors got off to a slow start and had to overcome a late deficit to defeat No. 8 seed College of Idaho in their quarterfinal encounter. After trailing 30-26 at the half, LC came back over the final 20 minutes, eventually building a seven-point lead with three minutes to play.
 
The Yotes kept things close and climbed to within one point on a three-pointer with 14 seconds to play but the Warriors iced the game at the free-throw line.
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Both the Beacons and LC State have had their share of close games this season, including both of their head-to-head meetings. The Warriors won at home back in January, 63-59, ending a six-game winning streak at the time for Bushnell.
 
Then, in Eugene on February 11, Bushnell fell 69-66. In that contest, the Beacons erased a 19-point second half discrepancy but couldn't hold on late.
 
CCC TOURNAMENT: Tonight's other semifinal matchup features the No. 2 seed Southern Oregon Raiders playing host to the No. 3 seed Eastern Oregon Mounties. The teams defeated Northwest and Warner Pacific respectively in the quarterfinals. Tonight's winners will face off on Monday at 7:00 pm, at the home of the top remaining seed.
 
BEACONS NEWS & NOTES:  On Tuesday, Junior Aspen Slifka passed Lori Renner (2006-2011) for fifth-place on the Bushnell all-time scoring list and she now has 972 points. Becoming the fifth Beacon ever to score 1000 points is just around the corner, but she'll need a little more time to move into the top-four. Elise Gray (2005-2009) sits in the fourth spot with 1124 career points. Slifka leads the Beacons and is sixth in the CCC in scoring this season, averaging 15 points per game.
 
Sophomore transfer Bella Pedrojetti is third on the Beacons in scoring, averaging 10.6 points per game. She is shooting 43.8% from three-point range in Cascade Conference games, which leads the CCC by a full percentage point.
 
MEET THE WARRIORS: Sophomore Callie Stevens is the front runner to take home CCC Player of the Year honors next week. After missing most of her freshman season with an injury, she has dominated the circuit behind the strength of her outside shooting. She is averaging 20.8 points per game in CCC action, making 3.1 three-pointers per contest. She is third for three-point percentage (41.1%).
 
While Stevens does her thing on the perimeter, sophomore Maddie Holm and junior Sarah Muehlhausen go to work on the inside. Holm leads the CCC in rebounding, averaging 10.4 boards per game. The 6'3" Muehlhausen is seventh in rebounding (8.4) and leads the conference with 2.2 blocks per game. The dynamic duo also combines to score 22 points per game.
 
Junior Adyson Clabby is a dynamic point-guard for the Warriors. She leads the CCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.0) and is fourth on the circuit with 3.8 assists per game.