SALEM, Ore. – A long and grueling 2021-22 Corban University Women's Basketball season that was filled with countless injuries, off-court distractions, and a taxing 5-24 overall record, the Warriors completely flipped their previous season results into a Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament appearance this year, as they'll enter the postseason as the No. 7 seed in the conference.

To access the 2022-23 CCC Women's Basketball Tournament Championship page, click HERE.

The following schedule depicts the CCC Tournament Quarterfinal matchups, with the higher seed hosting each contest:

#8 The Evergreen State College at #1 Eastern Oregon University #7 Corban University at #2 Lewis-Clark State College #6 College of Idaho at #3 Southern Oregon University #5 Bushnell University at #4 Oregon Tech

Following a five-time tiebreaker scenario between EOU and LC State, where an actual coinflip was needed to determine the first of two automatic qualifiers (AQ) from the CCC office for the NAIA National Tournament and the top seed in the CCC Playoffs, the coinflip determined Corban's opponent to be their Warrior counterparts in the conference in No. 10 Lewis-Clark State College, the No. 2 overall seed in the tourney.

LC State (26-2, 21-1) nearly pulled off the perfect conference season to pair with their Co-Conference Regular Season Championship but ended up sharing the title with the Mountaineers after both squads finished with identical records and win-loss tiebreakers in conference play.

The Lewiston Warriors play the game at an incredibly fast pace but have the ability to slow down and execute exactly how they want when it matters most. They lead the conference in nearly every statistical category, trading first place for second place in the event EOU has the higher statistic.

Corban (12-16, 9-13) rejoins the ranks of CCC Tournament teams after a strong start to the season but struggled to find their groove again in the second half to fall to the No. 7 overall seed. When the Salem Warriors are hitting their shots, they're a difficult team to distance themselves from through the course of a game, something that Lewis-Clark State fans are aware of based on their previous two games against this lineup.

Despite a lopsided height advantage and multiple All-CCC student-athletes in their lineup, LC State struggled early in both victories they managed to grind out with Corban this season, as the Navy and Gold fought hard against the NAIA Top 10 tram for three of the four quarters in each game. That solo quarter in each matchup is where Corban fell apart offensively and allowed Lewis-Clark to score multiple points off avoidable turnovers, meaning that if the visiting Warriors can keep themselves out of turnover trouble, then they may have a legitimate chance of a major road upset.

As previously mentioned, the young Corban lineup struggled to regain their confidence that they generated in the first half of the year over the final few weeks of the regular season, managing just a 4-8 record since the midway point of the conference slate, with all their loss margins being at least nine-points or more. If the Navy and Gold are able to keep this contest close, who knows what may be in store for them down the road.

Lewis-Clark State enters this quarterfinal matchup with seven-game win streak intact, their only loss in conference play coming in overtime at Eastern Oregon. Their only other loss on the season came in the very first contest of the year, when they hosted then No. 2 Westmont College and fell by an eight-point margin.

Key players to watch for in this matchup starts at the top of the backcourt in guard Callie Stevens for LC State and junior guard Maddie Godwin for Corban. Both guards can score at will from the perimeter, but it will surely be more of a test for the Navy and Gold in keeping Stevens contained when she has multiple All-Conference winners around her that also need to be dealt with. Godwin certainly has the support she needs to force an upset, it will just be incredibly important for everyone on the court to be locked in on Corban Head Coach Bill Pilgeram's gameplan.

Meanwhile, the battle in the key remains up for debate, as each team bolsters block-heavy forwards and centers that all have the ability to go off on any given day. The hosting Warriors hold the rebounding advantage, but the visiting Warriors have seen an uptick in both offense and defensive rebounds of late that could cause issues for the NAIA tourney bound squad. Corban will look to senior forward Holly Golenor to cause a disturbance in the paint on both ends of the floor, as she holds a 1.4 blocks per game average that ranks seventh in the CCC. Golenor's counterpart, center Sara Muehlhausen, will continue to impact shots either directly or indirectly as she has all season, looking to raise her CCC best 64 blocks mark even more so.

The winner of the conference tournament will receive the CCC's second automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament, which will begin on March 7th with the Opening Rounds. Should No. 10 Lewis-Clark State claim the CCC Tournament title, the bid would go to the tournament runner-up.

Live video for this week's quarterfinal matchup between the two Warrior squads will be made available HERE, while live stats can be viewed HERE.

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