WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Friday 12/8 at Corban, 5:30 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
Tuesday 12/12 at Portland State, 6:00 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
The Bushnell women's basketball team went 1-1 in their first weekend of conference play, falling to Warner Pacific, 53-49, before defeating Multnomah, 66-59. The Beacons take on Corban University on Friday and have an exhibition game at Portland State on Tuesday.
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK: Four teams are undefeated in conference play: Oregon Tech (2-0), Lewis-Clark State (2-0), Warner Pacific (3-0) and Southern Oregon (2-0). Three CCC teams are on the latest NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll, led by Lewis-Clark State at No. 8. Eastern Oregon is ranked No. 18 and Southern Oregon is No. 21.
The Beacons are currently ranked ninth in the CCC in scoring, averaging 60.6 points per game. On defense, Bushnell is third, allowing 57.8 ppg, while holding opponents to 35.5% from the floor. The team is third in field goal percentage (.422), and fifth in three-point shooting, hitting .277 from deep. The Beacons rank 10
th in the CCC in rebounds per game (32.9).
Individually,
Aspen Slifka is currently seventh in the CCC in scoring (15.6 ppg) and
Libby Mathis is fifth in rebounding with 9.3 per game. Mathis also ranks fifth in field-goal percentage, shooting 54.3% on the year.
Aly Mirabile ranks third in the conference in assists, averaging 3.9 per contest.
CORBAN: The Warriors are 2-5 on the season and 1-1 in conference action, splitting their series with Warner Pacific and Multnomah. Corban was held to just 37 points in a 58-37 loss to the Knights on Saturday.
Corban is currently 10
th in the CCC in scoring (58.7 ppg) and are also 10
th defensively, allowing 73.9 points per game. The Warriors are shooting 35.1% from the floor on the year, including a .221 (12
th) mark from three-point range. Maddie Godwin leads the team and ranks third in the CCC in scoring, averaging 17.7 points per game.
Bushnell holds a 23-19 advantage in the all-time series and has won nine straight.
PORTLAND STATE: Portland State, an NCAA Division I program in the Big Sky Conference, is off to a 4-2 start to the season. Esmeralda Morales leads the team in scoring, averaging 21.3 points through six games.
The Beacons will reunite with Bushnell alumni, Kaylynn Bush, who is in her second season as the Director of Basketball Operations for the Vikings. Bush played for the Beacons before serving three seasons on the coaching staff.
This will be the first meeting between Bushnell and Portland State.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Friday 12/8 at Corban, 7:30 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
The Beacons kick started the 2023-2024 Cascade Conference schedule in a big way last week, going 2-0 on their road trip to Portland. They head back out on the road this week for just one game, taking on rival Corban University on Friday night.
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK: The Beacons (5-3, 2-0) are one of five remaining undefeated teams in CCC action, joining Corban, Southern Oregon, Lewis-Clark State and Walla Walla.
The Beacons are the top scoring team in the CCC, averaging 86.9 points per game. The next closest foe is Oregon Tech, averaging 83.1 ppg. The Beacons are tenth defensively, allowing 81.5 ppg. The team is No. 1 for three-point shooting (.397), No. 2 for overall field goal shooting (.461) and No. 3 for free-throw shooting (.740). The Beacons also lead the conference in assists (17.3/g) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6).
Individually,
Stevie Schlabach is seventh in the CCC in scoring (14.9 ppg).
Spencer Hoffman follows closely in eighth (14.4 ppg) and leads the conference with 10.3 rebounds per game.
Cory Johnson is third in the CCC in three-point shooting (.538, 21-for-39) while
Alexis Angeles is fourth in assists (4.0 a/g).
CORBAN: The Warriors (4-2, 2-0) opened up their Cascade Conference program with the same wins as Bushnell, road claims over Warner Pacific and Multnomah. Where the Beacons have done things with the rock in their hands, the Warriors have done them on the defensive end as they are second in the CCC, allowing just 68.7 points per game. They are eighth in scoring, averaging 74.0 ppg.
Aundree Polk has scored 20 or more points in half of the Corban games this season and ranks third in the conference with 18.2 points per game. His 3.0 three-pointers per game lead the conference while Reece Van Lierop has the best three-point shooting percentage in the CCC at .591 (13-for-22).
The Warriors hold a 49-22 advantage in the series with Bushnell, dating back to 1987. The teams have split their head-to-head series in each of the past two seasons, but Bushnell has won two straight and seven of their last ten meetings in Salem.
