It's Christmastime in the Morse Center! Bushnell will host a pair of double-headers this weekend against Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon, so take a break from holiday shopping and come down to Dave Lipp Court for some exciting action!

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 

Friday 12/13 vs. Oregon Tech, 5:30 pm
Saturday 12/14 vs. Southern Oregon, 3:00 pm
 
LAST WEEK: The Beacons (4-5, 3-0 CCC) remained undefeated in conference play last week as they defeated Corban University in Salem, 72-67, but lost their final non-conference game of the season against undefeated Linfield University, 70-50.
 
Against the Warriors, the Beacons had five players in double-figures and shot 41% from the field as they won their 12th straight game in the series, and held on as the Warriors climbed back from a double-digit deficit to make it a one-possession game late in the fourth quarter.
 
Ayden Krupke, ranked third in the CCC in scoring, continued her hot start to the season with a game-high 18 points including a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Libby Mathis added 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds while Mandy Sisul buried a trio of three-pointers and scored 13. And Ellis Mastel added ten points off the bench.
 
MILESTONE WATCH: The 2024-2025 season has already been noteworthy for Head Coach Chad Meadors, and senior Libby Mathis. On November 12, Meadors earned his 100th career coaching win at the four-year collegiate level when the Beacons defeated Hope International.
 
Mathis continues to pile up historic numbers in her fifth season. Already the offensive rebounding record holder, Mathis now owns the record for total rebounds (768), and recently became the sixth player in school history to score 1000 points. She now has 1055 points in her career.
 
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK: The Beacons are one of three teams that are still undefeated in CCC action after two weeks. They are joined by No. 4-ranked Southern Oregon (9-0, 3-0) and No. 13 Lewis-Clark State (10-0, 4-0).   
 
The Beacons are currently ranked eighth in the CCC in scoring, averaging 60.8 points per game, and they are also eighth defensively, allowing 66.2 ppg.
 
With 14.4 points per game, Ayden Krupke is currently third in the CCC in scoring while Libby Mathis (13.8 ppg) is ranked seventh. Ellis Mastel is second in the CCC in shooting, hitting 56.1% of her shots and Mandy Sisul ranks second in the conference in three-pointers, hitting 2.2 per game.
 
OREGON TECH: One of the preseason favorites in the Cascade Conference, OIT is 6-3 on the season and recently owned a six-game winning streak before falling to SOU last weekend.
 
OIT is currently fourth in the CCC in scoring, averaging 70.8 points per game and they are fourth defensively, allowing 60.4. The Owls lead the CCC with 47.1 rebounds per game and hold a +9.8 rebounding margin, tops in the league by over five.
 
The Owls are playing without the services of Olivia Sprague, an early favorite for CCC Player of the Year contention, who is out for the year with an injury. In her place, Gabbie Gascon had stepped up, averaging 13 points per game which ranks tenth in the CCC in scoring. Gascon also leads the conference in steals, averaging 3.3 per game, while Alexis Elquist is fourth in the conference in rebounding with 8.7 rpg.
 
Oregon Tech owns a 25-12 lead in the all-time series with the Beacons and has won five straight.
 
SOUTHERN OREGON: The Raiders are undefeated, ranked No. 4 in the NAIA, and have established themselves as one of the front runners to win the conference title and take a stab at a national championship.
 
They have done so behind the strength of a CCC best 77.3 points per game as they are outscoring opponents by 21.6 points per contest. SOU is the top three-point shooting team in the conference (.385).
 
Leading the way are Morgan Baird, averaging 14 points per game, Emmy Schmerbach (13.2 ppg) and Bridgette McIntyre (11.8 ppg). Baird leads the conference, shooting 60% from the field while McIntyre leads in three-point percentage (.475) and three-pointers per game (3.1). Meghan McIntyre is second in the CCC in assists with 4.0 per contest.
 
Southern Oregon is 30-6 in the all-time series with the Beacons and comes in winners of six straight over the past three seasons. The last win for Bushnell was a big one, claiming the CCC tournament championship over the Raiders in March 2020.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Friday 12/13 vs. Oregon Tech, 7:30 pm
Saturday 12/14 vs. Southern Oregon, 5:00 pm
 
LAST WEEK: The Beacons (5-4, 1-2 CCC) were defeated by Corban University in CCC action last weekend, 85-69. An 18-3 run to open the game proved to be a difference maker for the Warriors. Bushnell showed plenty of fight over the final 20 minutes, erasing nearly all of their deficit and climbing to within one possession, 67-64, with six minutes remaining. Unfortunately for the visitors, they managed just five points the rest of the way as Corban held out for the win.
 
Luke Smith came off the bench to lead Bushnell with 18 points while Cory Johnson contributed a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Kaleb Burnett added 14 points of his own off the bench as the Beacon reserves outscored Corban's bench, 36-20. The Beacons also owned a significant 42-27 rebounding advantage and used 14 offensive boards to account for a 15-2 advantage on second-change scoring.
 
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK: After the first two weeks of CCC action, only three teams remain undefeated in conference play. No. 15 Lewis-Clark State is 4-0 while No. 2-ranked College of Idaho and Corban are both 3-0.
 
The Beacons are currently third in the CCC in scoring, averaging 83.3 points per game, and sixth defensively, allowing 74.9 ppg. Bushnell is second in the CCC with a +4.0 turnover margin and ranks third in the CCC in steals with 7.7 per game.
 
Cory Johnson leads the Beacons and is fifth in the CCC in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game. Turner Livingston leads the conference in three-point shooting, hitting 50% of his attempts.
 
OREGON TECH: OIT is off to a 6-3 start to their season with their only Cascade Conference loss coming on the road against No. 2 College of Idaho, 74-66. Last weekend they knocked off Southern Oregon University in dramatic fashion, winning 97-94 in double-overtime.
 
The Owls lead the CCC and are ranked 19th in the NAIA, scoring 87.6 points per game. They are tenth in the conference defensively, however, allowing 81.2 ppg for a +6.3 scoring margin that ranks sixth in the conference and slightly behind the Beacons (+8.4). OIT has the top field goal percentage in the CCC (.520), which ranks eighth in the NAIA.
 
Jamison Guerra leads the team and is ninth in the conference in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game. Guerra also leads the CCC and ranks 3rd in the NAIA with 6.6 assists per game. Blake Jensen scores just 10.2 ppg but leads the conference with a .706 field goal percentage.
 
Friday marks the 73rd all-time recorded meeting between Bushnell and Oregon Tech, dating back to 1978. The Owls have a 56-16 record in the series, and have won ten of the last eleven, including all three meetings last season. OIT won in Eugene back in February, 95-88.
 
SOUTHERN OREGON: The Raiders (5-4) have started the CCC slate with an 0-3 record and have lost four of their last five games overall after a 4-0 start.
 
SOU ranks sixth in the CCC in scoring, averaging 81.1 points per game and they are seventh defensively, allowing 75.2 ppg. The Raiders own the top free-throw percentage in the conference at .763, and they allow the fewest rebounds per game to their opponents at 28.1.
 
Elijah Jackson is the only scorer averaging double-digits for the Raiders, averaging 13.8 point per game which ranks 13th in the CCC.
 
Southern Oregon and Bushnell have played each other 63 times, dating back to the 1980-1981 season. SOU holds a 35-28 margin in the all-time series, but Bushnell is 18-14 in Cascade Collegiate Conference games. SOU swept the home-and-home series last year, winning by and average of eight points.