SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University women's basketball team heads to Southern California on the heels of final exam week at the college. The Pirates, who have not played since December 3rd, face Chapman University (Sunday, 5:00 pm), Caltech (Monday, 2:00 pm) and Whittier (Wednesday, 1:00 pm).
Check the Whitworth women's basketball schedule for live links to this weekend's action.
The Pirates: Whitworth (3-4) split its Northwest Conference opening weekend in Tacoma on December 2-3.
The Pirates were not intimidated by opening the NWC schedule at Puget Sound, the strong 2022-23 conference favorites. Whitworth led after one quarter and was still tied late in the second period. A rough third quarter turned the momentum to the hosts and Puget Sound won 89-77. Olivia Mayer posted 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Quincy McDeid scored a season-high 17 points while making 4-5 from three-point range. Madison Hagen came off the bench for 14 points. The Pirates made 41% of their field goals, including 40% of their three-pointers. Whitworth also had a 46-33 edge in rebounds, but suffered 24 turnovers against the high-pressure defense.
The Pirates turned a 10-point, first quarter deficit into a 16-point, fourth quarter lead on the way to an 84-76 win at Pacific Lutheran. Whitworth made only 3 of 21 shots in the first period, including 1 of 12 from three-point range, but weathered the storm for a first NWC win. Mayer posted her sixth double-double of the season with a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds. She also had four steals and two blocked shots on defense. Sydney McLean came off the bench for 14 points, making 4-6 from three-point range. Kimberly Dewey added 11 points and four assists. The Pirates cleaned up their execution from the previous night and committed only seven turnovers in the game.
The Opponents: Chapman University is off to a 3-5 start in 2022-23, including a 1-3 mark against Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams. The Panthers lost 73-65 to Cal Lutheran on December 3rd and 62-49 to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on December 7th in their most recent games. Chapman returns four starters from last season's conference runner-up team, including senior forward Julia Strand, who averages 15.7 ppg and 8.2 rpg. Julianna Campas (Gr., G) adds 9.6 ppg and makes 40% of her three-pointers. Whitworth last played Chapman in December of 2015, defeating the Panthers 64-59 in a game played in Santa Cruz, California.
Caltech is 4-4 overall and 2-0 in the SCIAC and riding a three-game winning streak that includes a 54-48 win over Whitworth on November 26th at UC Santa Cruz. The Beavers' most recent game was a 61-54 victory at Whittier on December 3rd. Caltech will host George Fox on Sunday before the Pirates visit on Monday. Sophomore swing player Kathryn Edwards continues to lead the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game. Senior forward Sahana Saikumar, a 2022 All-SCIAC honoree, adds 13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest.
Whittier, the defending SCIAC Tournament champions, is 2-6 overall and 0-4 in the conference. The Poets fell 74-42 at Redlands on December 14th and are looking to break a four-game losing skid. Whittier hosts George Fox on Saturday. Sophomore point guard Rhe Nae Leach averages 17.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Senior forward Lainie James adds 15.6 points and makes over 38% of her three-point attempts. Whitworth played at Whittier last season (Nov. 24) and won 66-57.
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 795 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 Northwest Conference in scoring (19.4 ppg), rebounding (13.0 rpg), free throw percentage (91.7) and double-doubles (6). She has made 33-36 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 the Christmas holiday, Whitworth will host Cal Lutheran in its final non-conference game of the season on December 29th.
