SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's basketball team heads to the Kim Evanger Raney Classic, hosted by Whitman College in Walla Walla, for games against Colorado College and Walla Walla University this weekend. Saturday's game against Colorado College tips off at 4:00 pm, while Sunday's contest against Walla Walla starts at 2:00 pm.
Whitman College requires fans attending indoor athletic events to be fully vaccinated. Please plan accordingly. Fans unable to attend can find live links on the Whitworth women's basketball schedule.
The Pirates: Whitworth (3-5) opened its Northwest Conference schedule with setbacks at Willamette and at home against Whitman.
The Pirates trailed most of the way at Willamette last Saturday, and faced a nine-point deficit early in the fourth quarter before rallying to take a brief lead late in the game. A final three-point attempt to tie was no good and Quincy McDeid's basket at the buzzer could only pull the Bucs within one point. Talia Brandner led Whitworth with 17 points, making 3-5 from three-point range. Megan Dorney added 12 points and six rebounds, while McDeid and Macey Morales scored 11 and 10, respectively.
Whitworth hung right with 2nd-ranked Whitman during the first half on Tuesday night. The Blues used a 23-12 third quarter to pull away for a 76-59 win in Spokane. After shooting nearly 60% from the field in the first half, the Pirates cooled off to only 27% in the second half. Dorney posted Whitworth's first double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds. McDeid added 16 points and six boards.
Road Trifecta: During its Thanksgiving trip to California, Whitworth won three true road games in a row for the first time since the Pirates won their first six road games in a row on the way to a 14-0 start during the 2014-15 season.
The Opponents: Whitworth will play Colorado College at the Kim Evanger Raney Classic for the third time since 2016 when the teams meet on Saturday. The Tigers come into the weekend 3-4 against a difficult schedule. CC won 61-50 at home against St. Thomas (Texas) on December 2nd before falling 80-63 at UC Santa Cruz on December 4th. Sophomore guard Audrey Bayston leads the team in scoring (12.9 ppg) and adds 5.9 rebounds per game. Junior guard Anna Fanelli averages 10.1 points per game and ranks second in all of NCAA Division III in assists per game (8.3). Whitworth defeated the Tigers 61-55 in the last meeting between the teams during the 2019-20 season-opener in Colorado. The Pirates have also won both previous meetings at the Raney Classic, in 2018 and 2016.
Walla Walla University, located near Whitman in College Place, Washington, is a member of the NAIA Cascade Collegiate Conference. The Wolves are 1-7 this year, but most of the losses have been close. They are 1-1 against NWC opponents, including a win over Lewis & Clark on November 28th. Walla Walla dropped its conference openers at home last weekend, 60-44 to Evergreen State and 72-56 to Northwest. Senior guard Carolina Montes-Estrada is the team's scoring leader at 15.2 points per game. Junior guard Jaliyah Casem adds 11.8 points and 2.8 steals per game. Whitworth won its last game against the Wolves 70-62 on December 16, 2019 in College Place.
Dorney Does it: Megan Dorney has developed into Whitworth's leader on the court this season. She leads the team in scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg) and makes 57.1% of her field goals. Defensively, she leads the team in steals (9).
NWC Preseason Poll: Whitworth is fifth in the NWC preseason coaches poll this season with 33 points. The Pirates just missed the conference playoffs in fifth position in both 2019 and 2020. There was no conference tournament in 2021 due to Covid-19. Whitman leads the poll with eight first place votes and 64 points. Pacific (Ore.) is second with one first place vote and 50 points.
NCAA Championship is Back: The NCAA Division III tournament is back in 2021-22 after getting cancelled last season. The first two rounds will take place March 4-5 on campus sites, as will the rounds of 16 and 8 on March 11-12. The Division III final four will be held at the A.J. Palumbo Center March 18-19 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
On the Air Again: Many of Whitworth's games are once again carried live this season on KSBN 1230am in Spokane. The broadcast schedule includes non-conference games in California and all Northwest Conference contests. The relationship between Pirate athletics and KSBN goes back to 1994, a span of more than 25 years. Bud Nameck is in his seventh season as the voice of Whitworth basketball. Nameck has more than 30 years of experience calling college basketball at Gonzaga University and Washington State.
The Coach: Joial Griffith is in her fourth season as the women's basketball coach at Whitworth University in 2021-22. She has guided the Pirates to a record of 31-27 in her two years, including two fourth place finishes in the Northwest Conference and a 4-4 mark during the COVID-19 schedule of 2020-21. Griffith took over for long-time Whitworth head coach Helen Higgs, who resigned after 24 seasons as the winningest coach in Pirate women's basketball history. Griffith spent one season with the Williams (Mass.) Ephs' women's basketball program. Prior to her year at Williams, she was the assistant coach at Claremont-Scripps-Colleges in Southern California, near where she grew up. The Athenas made back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances during her two seasons, finishing 20-9 in 2017 and 23-6 in 2016.
Looking Ahead: Whitworth will take a break for final exams and the Christmas holiday. The Pirates return to action on December 30th at Central Washington University in the final non-conference contest of 2021-22.
