CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon Tech forward Tatum Schmerbach was selected as the 2023-24 Cascade Conference Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Year, highlighting a trio of Lady Owls honored by the 12 league coaches as part of the All-CCC postseason awards.
Guards Olivia Sprague and Gabbie Gascon were named first-team All-CCC selections, with Schmerbach named to the honorable mention list.
Schmerbach becomes the second OIT player to win the Freshman of the Year award (Shelby Blodgett in 2022), as the South Medford product led the Lady Owls to a record-setting 26-4 regular-season. The forward averaged eight points, seven rebounds and three assists per game on the year, while adding 26 steals and 14 blocked shots.
Sprague earns first-team honors for the second-straight year, finishing the regular-season as the only player in the CCC ranking among the Top-15 in the five top statistical categories (scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks). The junior scored 20-or-more points 10 times, averaging 17.5 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals per game – becoming the first OIT player in two decades to score 500 points in a season.
Gascon earns honors for the first time after a breakout sophomore season. The point-guard scored in double-figures 21 times, averaging 12.6 points, five rebounds and four assists per game, while ranking second in the league in free throw percentage (.898).
LC State guard Callie Stevens was named Player of the Year, Southern Oregon guard Meghan McIntyre was named Newcomer of the Year, with SOU’s Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt named Coach of the Year.
The Lady Owls will learn if they advance to the NAIA National Tournament on Thursday at 5 p.m. – with a watch-party planned for the CEET Auditorium on the OIT campus.