SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's basketball team will open its Northwest Conference schedule with a pair of games in Tacoma this weekend. The Pirates play at Puget Sound on Friday (6:00 pm) and at Pacific Lutheran on Saturday (4:00 pm). The games can be heard live in Spokane on KSBN 1230 am and on the internet at KSBN.net.
Check the Whitworth women's basketball schedule for live links to this weekend's action.
The Pirates: Whitworth (2-3) last a pair of games in Santa Cruz, California over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The Pirates played strong first and third quarters, but Caltech outscored Whitworth 34-19 in the second and fourth quarters of a 54-48 Pirate loss at UC Santa Cruz on Friday afternoon. The Beavers held Whitworth to 18 of 57 (31.6%) from the field and 3 of 22 (13.6%) from three-point range. Kimberly Dewey scored a career-high 17 points and added eight rebounds. Quincy McDeid scored a dozen points, while Olivia Mayer grabbed a dozen boards. Whitworth's point output was a season-low.
The Pirates pushed unbeaten UCSC to the brink before falling 58-57 to the Banana Slugs on Saturday afternoon. Dewey had a three-point attempt at the buzzer that did not go in. Whitworth improved its shooting slightly to 22 of 59 (37.3%) from the field and 3 of 21 (14.3%) from beyond the arc. The Pirates were able to hold UCSC to 0-15 from three-point range. Mayer led Whitworth with 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Dewey added nine points.
The Opponents: Puget Sound is the Northwest Conference favorite, according to a preseason poll of conference coaches. The Loggers are coming off a second place finish and 20-5 record last season. UPS crushed a pair of California schools at home this weekend, defeating Chapman 95-58 and Whittier 84-49. Junior guard Kennedy Brown (Jr., G), a second team All-NWC honoree in 2022, leads the team in scoring average (14.6 ppg) and makes 47% of her three-point tries. Senior guard Samamtha Swartout, another second team All-NWC selection last season, adds 9.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Kasey Kushiyama is in his sixth season as head coach. UPS is averaging 77.7 points while giving up 56.3 points per game. The Loggers swept the Pirates in 2021-22, winning 85-59 in Spokane and 76-63 in Tacoma.
Pacific Lutheran is 0-4 this season, coming off a 53-42 loss to visiting Whittier (Calif.) in the Lutes' most recent game on November 22nd. PLU is a young team under first year head coach Lee Aduddell, with no seniors and seven first-year players on the 15-member roster. Sophomore guard Ashley Akamine averages 10.0 points and 4.3 rebounds, while first-year guard Sydney Reisner adds 8.8 ppg. The Lutes are scoring 45.8 points while allowing 59.8 points per contest. Whitworth split with PLU in 2021-22, losing 66-64 at home, but winning 78-71 in Parkland.
Pirates picked 6th in 2022-23: Whitworth is sixth in the NWC's preseason coaches poll with 27 points. The Pirates are coming off a seventh place finish in 2021-22 after finishing 10-15 overall and 5-11 in the NWC. Puget Sound (61 points, 5 first place votes) edged Whitman (58 points, 4 first place votes) for first place in the poll.
McDeid Gets It Done: Quincy McDeid has been a part of the Whitworth starting lineup since her first year. McDeid has started 59 of the 63 games over her four seasons and has never missed a contest in that time. McDeid has averaged double figures in scoring, with a career scoring average of 12.2 points per game. She has 771 points and has a chance to become the 14th player in Pirate women's basketball history to surpass 1,000 career points.
Mayer Makes it Happen: Olivia Mayer is already off to a better start then her phenomenal first season at Whitworth. She leads the team in scoring (18.0 ppg) and rebounding (13.8 rpg). She has made 20-22 from the free throw line.
Last season Mayer averaged 11.8 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. She led the team in steals (32). In just Northwest Conference games only, her stats were even better with averages 13.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game against NWC opponents. She claimed honorable mention All-NWC recognition.
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 against Walla Walla and California Lutheran 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 eighth 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: Kenny Love is in his first season guiding the Pirate women. He moved over from the men's coaching staff, where he was an assistant coach since 2017 and was involved in all aspects of the men's team operation, including scouting, recruiting, budget management, conditioning and summer camp organization. Love is a former Pirate player who claimed first team All-NWC recognition three times and was the 2015 NWC Player of the Year.
Looking Ahead: After a break for final exams, Whitworth will travel to California to battle Chapman (Dec. 18), Caltech (Dec. 19) and Whittier (Dec. 21) at the beginning of winter vacation.
