SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University women's basketball team will hit the road for a pair of games in Oregon this weekend. The Pirates play at Willamette on Friday (6:00 pm) in Salem and at Linfield on Saturday (4:00 pm) in McMinnville. Both games can be heard live on KSBN radio (1230 am) as part of women's-men's doubleheaders.
Check the Whitworth women's basketball schedule for live links to this weekend's action.
The Pirates: Whitworth (5-10 overall, 2-4 NWC) split last week, falling at Whitman on Tuesday, but ending a five-game losing streak with a win over George Fox on Saturday.
Turnovers were key on Tuesday in Walla Walla. The Pirates committed 24 turnovers, which directly led to 26 points for the Blues in a 68-58 setback. Whitworth fell behind by as many as 17 points early in the fourth quarter before making a late run. The Pirates shot well enough to stay competitive (44%), but could not overcome the giveaways. Olivia Mayer posted her 12th double-double of the year with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Kimberly Dewey added 14 points and six boards. No other Pirate player had more than five points.
After falling behind by ten points early in the third quarter, Whitworth rallied to defeat the Bruins 57-45 by outscoring George Fox 31-14 in the second half. The Pirates cut down significantly on their turnovers, finishing with 14. The shooting percentages were low until the decisive fourth quarter when the Bucs made 5-10 from the field, including 4-7 from beyond the arc. Quincy McDeid scored a season-high 19 points to lead all players. Mayer added 12 points and 11 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season. She also dished six assists against constant double teams.
The Opponents: Willamette (8-7 overall, 3-3 NWC) is coming off a big week. The Bearcats rallied from a six-point, fourth quarter deficit to win 60-55 at Pacific Lutheran, then knocked off Pacific (Ore.) 63-57 at home. Peg Swedener is in her 11th season as Willamette's head coach. Two junior guards lead their team statistically. Megan River averages 10.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Carly Ho averages 10.4 points and makes 38.3% of her three-pointers. The teams split games last season. The Bearcats won the first meeting 59-58 in Salem, while Whitworth won 66-63 in Spokane.
Linfield is 8-7 overall and 4-2 in the NWC heading into a game on Friday against Whitman. The Wildcats, under eighth-year head coach Casey Bunn-Wilson, are the most improved team in the conference this season after posting a 1-23 record in 2021-22. Sophomore center Gilliyan Landis averages 10.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Senior guard Janessa Yniguez is the only player to start all 15 games for Linfield this season. Whitworth defeated the Wildcats 81-64 in Spokane last season. Linfield got its only win of the year at home against the Bucs (62-59).
Pirates picked 6th in 2022-23: Whitworth was 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 69 of the 73 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 12.1 points per game. She has 886 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 is second in the Northwest Conference in scoring (17.3 ppg), leads the league in rebounding (12.2 rpg) and she leads all of NCAA Div. III in double-doubles (13, tied with one other). She has made 61-73 (83.6%) from the free throw line. Mayer is also second in the NWC in blocked shots (1.5 per game) and eighth in steals (1.7 per game).
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.
Don't Foul 'Em: Whitworth leads the Northwest Conference and ranks 23rd in all of NCAA DIII in team free throw percentage (73.6%).
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 start the second round of Northwest Conference play at home against Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound next weekend.
