ASHLAND – The Cascade Conference's three representatives at last season's NAIA Div. II women's basketball tournament are expected to be the class of the league again, according to the preseason coaches' poll released Tuesday.

 

CCC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES' POLL

School	Points	2014-15 record
1. Eastern Oregon	120 (10)	26-7, 16-2
2. Southern Oregon	105 (1)	27-5, 15-3
3. Oregon Tech	99	23-11, 9-9
4. College of Idaho	81	8-20, 7-11
T5. Corban	74	17-14, 11-7
T5. Northwest Christian	74	17-11, 8-10
7. Northwest	51	12-17, 4-14
8. Evergreen	50	16-10, 8-10
9. Warner Pacific	38	11-19, 4-14
10. Multnomah	19	6-15, --
11. Walla Walla	15	0-20, --

Eastern Oregon, the winner of the last three CCC regular-season titles, has been picked to repeat with 10 of 11 first-place votes in the poll. First-year head coach Alex Carlson's Southern Oregon Raiders were picked second (and received the other first-place vote), followed by 2015 conference tournament champion Oregon Tech.

College of Idaho is fourth, and Corban and Northwest Christian tied for fifth in the poll. Rounding it out are Northwest, Evergreen, Warner Pacific, and first-year CCC members Multnomah and Walla Walla.

SOU was the only CCC squad to win at the national tournament, getting past the first round for the first time since 1999 before falling in the second. The Raiders went 27-5 overall and were a game back of EOU at 15-3 in the CCC to finish up at No. 13 in the NAIA rankings.

They have eight players back, including senior All-CCC selections Ashley Claussen and Carly Meister. Claussen, who also earned honorable mention NAIA All-American accolades, averaged 10.5 points and 5.1 assists last season, while the 6-foot-2 Meister went for 12.3 points on 59-percent shooting and 6.3 rebounds per game. Junior wing Autumn Durand is the other starter back – she averaged 10.7 points and 4.7 rebounds – and Carlson brought in six newcomers to replace the likes of all-conference performers Alexi Smith and Kristen Schoenherr, among others.

EOU returns four starters and sophomore guard Maya Ay You, who came off the bench last season to average 11 points and garner CCC freshman of the year accolades. Over the last three seasons, the Mountaineers have gone 50-6 in conference play.

The Mounties were upset last year, however, in the CCC tournament championship game by Oregon Tech – which also upset SOU in the semifinals – as the Owls won their second straight postseason title. Seventh-year coach Scott Meredith returns four starters, including all-conference point guard Karly LeVeque.

The preseason all-conference team will be released on Thursday. The preseason NAIA Top 25 poll will be released Oct. 27.

SOU opens its season Oct. 29 at Riehm Arena against Simpson. With the exception of the Nov. 15 game against Pacific Union, every other SOU home contest this season will be played at Mountain Avenue Gym on the campus of Ashland High School while McNeal Hall undergoes a complete renovation. Tickets will go on sale next week.