SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's basketball team will make up a game against Linfield University on Tuesday night (6:00 pm) when the Wildcats visit the Fieldhouse as part of a women's-men's doubleheader. Tuesday's game will be televised regionally on SWX and will be carried live on KSBN radio 1230 am.
Whitworth requires all fans to wear a mask in the Whitworth Fieldhouse, regardless of vaccination status. Please plan accordingly. Fans unable to attend can find live links on the Whitworth women's basketball schedule.
The Pirates: Whitworth (5-9 overall, 0-5 NWC) lost to both Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran at home last weekend.
Visiting Puget Sound got out to a fast start in Friday night's game, taking a 28-13 lead after one quarter on the way to an 82-59 win over the Pirates. Whitworth was able to cut the margin to eight in the second quarter, but the Loggers pulled away again in the third, outscoring the Bucs 27-16. Olivia Mayer posted her first double-double as a Whitworth player, finishing with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Madison Hagen added a dozen points. They were the only Pirates in double figures.
Pacific Lutheran got the game-winning basket with 2.2 seconds left, spoiling Whitworth's comeback from a nine-point deficit. The Pirates had a final to tie, but Devyn Cope's shot rolled off the rim as time expired. Mayer led Whitworth again with a career-high 21 points and eight rebounds. Quincy McDeid went 6-6 at the free throw line and finished with 12 points. Hagen added 11 points, including three three-pointers.
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: Linfield has only played one game in the last two weeks due to hazardous travel conditions and COVID-19 protocols. The young Wildcat squad heads into the week 0-11 overall and 0-3 in the NWC. Linfield lost 73-52 at Pacific (Ore.) on January 11th, the Wildcats' first game since early December. Freshman forward Gillyan Landis averages 13.7 points per game, while freshman guard Emma Schmerbach contributes 8.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest. Whitworth swept Linfield in 2019-20, winning 75-72 at home and 87-75 away, one season after getting swept by the Wildcats.
Dorney Does it: Megan Dorney has developed into Whitworth's leader on the court this season. She leads the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg) and makes 55% of her field goals. Defensively, she leads the team in steals (13). Unfortunately for the Pirates, Dorney has been out of action with an injury and hasn't played since the Dec. 30 game at Central Washington. Hopes are she will return soon.
Talia's Time: Senior guard Talia Brandner's Pirate career came to an unfortunate end when she suffered a season-ending knee injury during the first half of Whitworth's game against Whitman on December 7th. One of the team's best three-point shooters, Brandner finished her Pirate career making 35.4% from beyond the arc. She totaled 558 points, 175 rebounds and 104 assists in 64 games.
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 hit the road for a pair of Northwest Conference games at Lewis & Clark and George Fox this weekend.
