Beacons Eye Return to CCC Tournament with Experienced, Deeper Roster
 
EUGENE, Ore. –After falling just short of the postseason a year ago, the Bushnell University women's basketball team enters the 2026-27 season with renewed optimism and perhaps more continuity than any Beacon squad in recent memory.
 
Bushnell finished 7-21 overall and 5-15 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play last season, narrowly missing the CCC Tournament after placing ninth in the standings. Ninth-year head Coach Chad Meadors believes the foundation built over the past year, combined with a veteran roster and an influx of talent, has the Beacons positioned to take a significant step forward.
 
"We have a lot of returning experience, and that's something we haven't had," Meadors said. "It's exciting because there are a lot of opportunities and a lot of possibilities with this group."
 
Experience Breeds Optimism
 
One of the biggest reasons for optimism is continuity. Bushnell returns 11 players from last year's roster and lost just three players during the offseason. That experience has created a level of depth and familiarity that Meadors says is dramatically different from previous seasons.
 
"I think it's night and day from where we've been," Meadors said. "We have three returning starters and Jersey McGehee, who was a three-year starter at another CCC school. Then you have several other players with significant starting experience. That creates a level of experience we haven't seen."
 
Meadors noted that many of Bushnell's returning players are entering the stage of their careers where major development often occurs. Several transfers who arrived last season now have a full year in the program, and the growth has been evident throughout preseason practices.
 
The veteran leadership has also helped establish stronger chemistry and culture throughout the roster.
"We built the foundation of improved chemistry and culture last year," Meadors said. "This group has elevated that and taken it to another level."
 
Improvement Across the Board
 
Meadors doesn't point to just one area where the Beacons have improved. Instead, he believes the growth has been comprehensive.
 
Bushnell expects to be stronger on the glass, more efficient offensively, and better equipped to execute its systems. The team is playing faster, has shown improved leadership, and possesses a greater understanding of what is expected on both ends of the floor.
 
Perhaps most importantly, the Beacons believe they have added a dimension that was lacking a year ago: shooting. "We didn't shoot the ball well last year," Meadors said. "Now we have kids that can really shoot it at a high clip. That changes everything. It spaces the floor, gives you more options offensively, and increases your margin for error."
 
Veteran Core Ready to Lead
 
Several familiar faces are expected to anchor the program as the season unfolds.
Among the most accomplished returners are senior Ciena Tumoine, junior Sabrina Flowers, and junior Maddie Gerhart, all multi-year starters who have been key contributors throughout their careers.
 
While each has dealt with circumstances that have limited preseason participation, Meadors expects all three to play major roles.
 
Tumoine, who received an additional semester of eligibility, is expected to become available in mid-December and provides a stabilizing presence for the program. Flowers brings veteran leadership and experience after starting the previous two seasons, while Gerhart is coming off what Meadors described as a transformative offseason before a stress fracture delayed her return.
 
"Maddie is different," Meadors said. "The growth she's made has been amazing."
 
Another player to watch is junior Ellis Mastel, whose sophomore season was interrupted by injury last year. Meadors believes she is capable of returning to the form that made her one of the team's most promising young players.
 
Poised for Breakthroughs
 
The Beacons are also expecting significant contributions from a group of second-year players who made important strides during the offseason.
 
Senior Karlee VonMoos has emerged as one of the team's leaders and defensive anchors, while Senior Dayvis Key's physicality in the post continues to stand out. Meadors pointed to Key's performance in the Exhibition against the University of Oregon as evidence of her ability to compete against elite competition.
 
Meanwhile, junior Kyra Quinn, senior Georgia Medori, and sophomore Katie Spillum have all shown considerable growth.
 
Medori brings athleticism and offensive versatility, Quinn continues to gain confidence, and Spillum has translated a strong offseason into noticeable development on the court.
 
"We've gotten better just by showing back up," Meadors said. "The improvement across the group has been really cool to see."
 
McGehee Headlines Talented Newcomer Class
 
Leading Bushnell's six-player recruiting class is graduate transfer McGehee (Tacoma, Wash.), a proven CCC performer who arrives after a successful career at Northwest University. McGehee gives the Beacons an experienced playmaking guard with a reputation for toughness and competitiveness.
 
"She knows how to put the ball in the basket," Meadors said. "She's a playmaker, she's got a dawg mentality, and that toughness rubs off on everybody."
 
Freshmen Clara Persons (Salem, Ore.) and Peyton Vorderstrasse (Lebanon, Ore.) are expected to make immediate impacts.
 
Persons comes in after a highly successful career at Regis High, where she was a back-to-back state champion, and four-time All-State selection including First-Team honors in 2025 and 2026. She has already impressed with her shooting ability, earning major minutes in the Oregon game and demonstrating she can compete at a high level right away. Meadors said, "Clara played 30 minutes against the Ducks and that's her first college basketball action. She came in and played against one of the best defenders in the nation and it was awesome to witness. She didn't back down, and she played her tail off."
 
Vorderstrasse, an All-State honorable mention at Lebanon High last season, provides versatility across multiple positions, giving the coaching staff flexibility throughout the lineup. "Peyton is a bit of a swiss army knife," said Meadors. "She can defend, rebound, score in different ways, and distribute the basketball. She is a calming presence on the court and understands our systems."
 
The remainder of the class includes freshmen Sarai Watson (Perth, Australia), Makya Alsup (Cottage Grove, Ore.), and Rayana Iverson (Eugene, Ore./Marist HS), all of whom have displayed promising skills during the preseason.
 
Watson and Iverson are capable perimeter shooters who can stretch defenses, while Alsup, a former four-sport standout from nearby Cottage Grove, is beginning to realize her potential now that basketball has become her primary focus.
 
A Schedule Built for Success
 
For the first time in years, Meadors feels the Beacons have a non-conference schedule that provides both quality competition and opportunities for success.
 
Bushnell opens the season this week with a two-game road trip to Arizona, facing Benedictine University-Mesa on Wednesday and Park University Gilbert on Thursday.
 
The Beacons will also face national powerhouse programs including Hope International and No. 22-ranked Rocky Mountain, but Meadors appreciates the overall balance of the schedule far more than in previous years. "This is the first time I can really say that I love our schedule," Meadors said.
 
With tournament scheduled at Corban, followed by a three-game homestand, Bushnell will enjoy significantly more games at home or within close travel distance, allowing the team to spend less time on the road and more time developing together. "We get to sleep in our own beds and establish a home crowd," Meadors said. "That gives us the best chance to have a really great start to the season."
 
Navigating the CCC Gauntlet
 
Any path to the postseason will still have to navigate one of the NAIA's deepest conferences. The CCC race was tightly contested last season, with six teams finishing within one game of each other in the standings.
 
While several standout seniors have graduated across the conference, Meadors expects the league to remain as competitive as ever, led by the likes of No. 14 Eastern Oregon, No. 17 Lewis-Clark State, and No. 20 Corban, along with squads from College of Idaho, Oregon Tech, and Southern Oregon that are all receiving votes in the national coaches poll.
 
The Beacons will begin conference play on Dec. 1 in Salem against Corban, immediately jumping into the intensity of CCC basketball.
 
For a program that missed the conference tournament by a single spot last season, the goal is clear. Armed with experience, improved depth, and a roster that appears capable of weathering adversity, Bushnell believes it has the pieces necessary to return to postseason contention.
 
If the Beacons continue to build on the growth they've shown throughout the offseason, a return to the CCC Tournament may be only the beginning.