SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's basketball team opens the second half of its Northwest Conference schedule this week with two teams it hasn't seen since December. The Pirates play at Whitman on Tuesday and host Willamette on Friday. Both start at 6:00 pm and will be carried live on KSBN radio 1230 am.
Whitman requires proof of booster and also wearing of masks to attend any indoor athletic event. Whitworth requires wearing masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. Please plan accordingly. Fans unable to attend the games can find live links on the Whitworth women's basketball schedule.
The Pirates: Whitworth (7-10 overall, 2-6 NWC) split a pair of games in Oregon last weekend to wrap up the first half of Northwest Conference play.
Whitworth led for most of the first three quarters at Lewis & Clark on Friday night, but a seven-minute scoring drought at the beginning of the fourth quarter allowed the Pioneers to take control in a 55-50 loss to L&C in Portland. Olivia Mayer recorded her third double-double of the season for the Pirates with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Madison Hagen added ten points as the only other Pirate in double figures. Whitworth shot 28.1% (16-57) from the field, including 17.4% (4-23) from beyond the arc.
The Pirates jumped out to a 16-4 lead midway through the first quarter and used that momentum for a 72-62 win at George Fox on Saturday night, the team's first win in Newberg since 2014. Whitworth played one of its most consistent games of the season, outscoring the Bruins in all four periods. The Bucs were 23-49 (46.9%) from the floor, including 8-16 (50%) from three-point range. Mayer scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 12 boards for her second straight double-double. Quincy McDeid had 16 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Kimberly Dewey and Tara Kaneshiro each had ten.
The Opponents: Whitman College (16-1 overall, 8-0 NWC) continues to roll through the NWC without a blemish. The Blues were ranked 8th in the most recent D3hoops.com women's top-25 (Jan. 17). Last weekend Whitman rebounded from a slow start to win 66-59 at George Fox on Friday, then crushed Lewis & Clark 69-46 on Saturday. Senior forward Kaylie McCracken, who averages 16.7 points and 9.8 rebounds, is the leading scorer and rebounder for Whitman. Sophomore forward Korin Baker adds 11.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest. Whitworth played the Blues to a draw through the first half of the teams' first game on December 7th in Spokane. But near the end of the first half senior guard Talia Brandner suffered an injury, and Whitman pulled away for a 76-59 win despite 19 points and 11 rebounds from Megan Dorney.
Willamette University comes into the week 8-7 overall, 3-3 in the NWC. Last weekend the Bearcats defeated Linfield 70-50 on Friday and lost 65-55 at Pacific on Saturday. Willamette also has to make up games against Lewis & Clark and George Fox that were postponed due to Covid-19 protocols, beginning with a game Wednesday against L&C. The Bearcats are balanced, with three players all averaging 9.9 points per game: Amanda Carpenter (Gr., G), who makes 86.2% of her free throws; Carolyn Ho (So., G), who adds 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game; and Ava Kitchen (So., F), who grabs 5.6 rebounds per game. Whitworth rallied from nine points down in the fourth quarter to pull within one, but fell short in a 59-58 loss at Willamette on December 4th. Talia Brandner had 17 points in her final full game as a Pirate.
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.
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 returns to Oregon for games at Linfield and Pacific on February 4th and 5th.
