SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University women's basketball team returns from Christmas break with the team's second home game of the season. The Pirates, who have not played since December 21st, host California Lutheran University on Thursday, December 29th at noon.
Check the Whitworth women's basketball schedule for live links to this weekend's action.
Tickets: Digital tickets are required for entrance to the Whitworth Fieldhouse for all fans. Tickets can be purchased in advance using the Hometown Ticketing App. Follow the Tickets link on the schedule for access. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for senior adults, non-Whitworth students and children. Whitworth students, as well as faculty and staff, get free admission by using an ID number.
The Pirates: Whitworth (4-6) dropped two of the three games played in Southern California at the start of Christmas Break.
The Pirates used a big second quarter to build a 30-23 halftime lead at Chapman University on December 18th. After scoring 20 points in the second quarter, Whitworth's offense went cold in the fourth period, scoring only eight points in the final quarter of a 55-52 loss to the Panthers. Kimberly Dewey led the team with 14 points and added seven rebounds. Sydney McLean came off the bench for a career-high 13 points. The Pirates turned the ball over 25 times in the game, allowing Chapman to score 24 points off those turnovers.
One day later Whitworth put everything together in a 70-47 win at Caltech, only two weeks after the Beavers defeated the Pirates 54-48 in Santa Cruz, California. Whitworth had the scoring advantage in every quarter and dominated the rebounding 50-36. Quincy McDeid scored a season-high 17 points, making 5-9 from three-point range. Olivia Mayer had 15 points and 14 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. Devyn Cope scored 11 points and added a blocked shot and two steals. Whitworth only turned the ball over 12 times and had 18 assists on 27 made baskets.
The Pirates struggled offensively in the second and third quarters of a 61-53 loss at Whittier on December 21st. Whitworth outscored the Poets in the first and fourth quarters, but Whittier outscored the Bucs 33-17 combined in the second and third. Dewey posted her career-high with 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Mayer added her eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 boards. McDeid scored a dozen points and dished three assists. Whitworth struggled from three-point range, making only 6 of 28 attempts (21.4%).
The Opponents: Cal Lutheran will be Whitworth's fourth consecutive opponent from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. The Regals come into the week 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the SCIAC. CLU defeated George Fox 75-42 at home on December 20th in its most recent official game. The Regals lost an exhibition contest at NCAA Div. I UC Santa Barbara on December 21st. CLU will play Whitman on Wednesday in Spokane before taking on the Pirates on Thursday. Sophomore guard Sara Mills scores 16.4 points per game and makes 2.6 three-pointers per contest. Junior center Aliya DiMuro, daughter of head coach Kelly DiMuro, contributes 9.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while making 59.6% of her field goal attempts. Whitworth last played Cal Lutheran on Dec. 30, 2018 in Thousand Oaks, California, winning 70-68.
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 64 of the 68 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 830 points and has a chance to become the 14th player in Pirate women's basketball history to surpass 1,000 career points. She currently leads the NWC in free throw percentage (89.7%).
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 (17.5 ppg), rebounding (12.8 rpg) and double-doubles (8). She has made 40-45 (88.9%) 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: Whitworth will return to Northwest Conference action on January 6-7 when the Pirates host Lewis & Clark and Pacific (Ore.).
