WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Friday 1/13 vs. College of Idaho, 5:30 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
Saturday 1/14 vs. Eastern Oregon, 3:00 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
Bushnell (9-5, 6-3 CCC) dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season, falling to No. 23 Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech.
 
CCC OUTLOOK: Three teams enter the week ranked among the Top-10 in the NAIA, No. 10 Lewis-Clark State (9-0), No. 16 Eastern Oregon (8-1) and No. 23 Southern Oregon (8-1) and make up the top three in the CCC standings. Oregon Tech (7-2) moved into fourth and Bushnell (6-3) dropped to fifth. The College of Idaho (5-4) and Corban (5-4) are tied for sixth, while the next teams on the list are three games back.  
 
CCC RANKS: The Beacons ranks fourth in the conference in scoring, averaging 65.8 points per game. They rank fourth in both field-goal percentage (.405) and three-point percentage (.312). Defensively, Bushnell ranks seventh in the CCC, allowing 62.2 points per contest.
 
Bella Pedrojetti leads the Beacons in scoring, averaging 12.9 points per game and ranks third in the conference in three-point shooting, making 40.7% of attempts on the season, and has reached double-digit scoring in all but three games, including a career-high 24 points at Evergreen last weekend.
 
Aspen Slifka ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.9 points per game on 43.2% shooting. Libby Mathis leads the CCC in field-goal percentage, making 56.3% of her shots. The junior is averaging nine points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks (4th in CCC) per game. Kalina Rojas leads the Beacons in rebounding, averaging 7.2 per game (8th in CCC).
 
MILESTONE WATCH: Aspen Slifka needs 59 points to move into third on Bushnell's all-time scoring list, passing Lindsey Shearer (1,206). Slifka (1,148) moved ahead of Elise Gray (1,124) after scoring 35 points last weekend.
 
THE COLLEGE OF IDAHO: The Yotes (10-5, 5-4 CCC) come into the weekend, winning five of their last six. C of I got off to an 0-3 start in CCC play but started off the slate against three of the top four teams in the standings.
 
The Yotes rank seventh in the conference in scoring, averaging 61.4 points per game, but are third defensively, giving up 58.1 points per contest and commit the third fewest turnovers at 14.5 per game. C of I is shooting 37.1% from the field and 28.8% from beyond the arc, both eighth in the CCC.
 
Sienna Riggle leads the team, averaging 14.2 points per game, fifth in the conference. The senior forward scored 16 points in the Yotes' win over Northwest on Saturday. Lexi Mitchell leads the College of Idaho in rebounding, grabbing a third-best 9.1 per contest, while adding 9.6 points per game.
 
C of I holds a 19-11 lead in the all-time series but the Beacons have won four of the last five dating back to 2019.
 
EASTERN OREGON: The Mountaineers (13-2, 8-1 CCC) have dropped just two games all season, a 76-68 loss to No. 22 Montana Western in late November and a 71-69 defeat at No. 10 LC State on Dec. 30.
 
EOU is averaging a conference-leading 76.8 points per game, while allowing a fourth-best 59.8 points per contest. They are shooting 37.7% from beyond the arc to lead the conference, thanks in part to a 49.5% (2nd in CCC) mark from Bayley Brennan. Brennan went 6-for-11 from three against Evergreen in their last game. The junior guard is averaging 13.5 points per game.
 
Senior guard Sailor Liefke is averaging 12.1 points per game, while Beverly Slater, a junior forward, is posting 10.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per contest. Shaelie Burgess is averaging a second-best 2.5 blocks per game.
 
The Mountaineers lead the all-time series with a 22-12 record, but the Beacons have won the last five.
 

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Friday 1/13 vs. College of Idaho, 7:30 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
Saturday 1/14 vs. Eastern Oregon, 5:00 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
The Beacons (6-9, 4-5 CCC) split on the road last weekend as they defeated Southern Oregon by one before falling to Oregon Tech.     
 
RECORD WATCH: Junior Stevie Schlabach is closing in on a few Bushnell records. He has now hit 509 field goals on 997 field goal attempts. He needs just 27 buckets and 32 attempts to set new all-time records in both categories, records which were set by Hall of Famer Mitch Naylor from 1995-1999. Schlabach is also currently sitting at 1362 career points which sits 91 points behind Naylor for third all-time.
 
CCC OUTLOOK: After a number of split-results in the Cascade Conference last weekend, the middle of the pack continues to be mired in mud. The College of Idaho remains undefeated in first with Eastern Oregon (8-1) and Corban (7-2) close behind. From there, only 3 games separate fourth through tenth place as the first round of circuit play closes up this weekend. Bushnell is part of a three-way tie for sixth-place.  
 
CONFERENCE/NAIA RANKS: A tough offensive weekend for the Beacons saw the team slip a few notches in some conference rankings. The team is now third for scoring (84.2 ppg), and field goal percentage (.491) and second for both three-point percentage (.407) and free-throw percentage (.796). The team is currently No. 3 in the NAIA for free-throw percentage.
 
Individually, Spencer Hoffman is sixth in the conference in scoring (16.7 ppg) while Stevie Schlabach is eighth (16.3). Hoffman is also third in rebounding (8.7 rpg) and fourth in field goal percentage (.617).  while Schlabach leads the conference in three-point percentage (.548).
 
COLLEGE OF IDAHO: The Beacons will have their hands full on Friday night when they host the No. 1 ranked team in the NAIA. The Yotes (14-1) have won 14 straight since a season-opening four-point loss to No. 5 Arizona Christian.
 
The College of Idaho is averaging a CCC-best 86 points per game and also lead the conference defensively, allowing just 63.5 ppg. During their 9-0 start to conference play, they are defeating opponents by an average of 30 points per game.
 
The Yotes historically spread the ball around and that is no exception in 2023 as five players average at least 9.8 points per game. Johnny Radford leads the way off the bench, scoring 13.1 ppg.
 
C of I holds a 21-8 lead in the all-time series with Bushnell and has won five straight games. The last win for the Beacons came in 2018, an 84-80 victory when the Yotes were also ranked No. 1 in the country.
 
EASTERN OREGON: Climbing to second-place in the CCC, the Mounties have won nine of their last ten games including six straight since falling to the College of Idaho in mid-December. EOU ranks sixth in the CCC in scoring (81.9 ppg) and fourth defensively (73.3 ppg allowed).
 
The Mounties are the top three-point shooting team in the conference, hitting 41.1% of their shots from distance which ranks fifth in the CCC (just ahead of No. 6 Bushnell at 40.7%). Phillip Malatare leads the Eastern Oregon offense, averaging 18.3 points per game while shooting 52% from the field.
 
Eastern Oregon holds a 19-12 lead in the all-time series with the Beacons, but Bushnell has won four of the last six meetings. The teams split their home-and-home series last season with each team winning on the road.