SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University women's basketball will face a split schedule this week, hosting Walla Walla on Thursday night (6:00) in their home opener before traveling across the border to play Northwest Nazarene on Saturday (3:30).

 Thursday's game can be heard on KSBN radio (1230 am). Check the Whitworth women's basketball schedule for live links to this week'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, or by clicking the link to the tickets page via the Whitworth women's basketball schedule. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for seniors, non-Whitworth students and children. Whitworth students, as well as faculty and staff get free admission by using an ID number.

The Pirates: Whitworth (1-1) split a pair of neutral site non-conference games last weekend in Walla Walla to open the 2023-2024 season.

The Pirates got their first win Friday night with a 70-57 win over Sul Ross State. Whitworth faced its largest deficit when it trailed 25-20 in the second following an 11-0 run from the Lobos, but the Pirates responded with an 18-7 run in the final seven minutes of the half. Kimberly Dewey led that charge with 11 in that stretch, and Whitworth led 38-32 at halftime.

With 3:24 left in the third, Whitworth saw its five-point lead swell to 17 behind a 12-0 run in six minutes of game time. Dewey scored a career high 27 points including a 12-13 performance from the free throw line to help the Pirates overcome an otherwise subpar shooting night.

On Saturday, the Pirates fell to UC Santa Cruz 53-38. Whitworth trailed by just two at halftime but couldn't keep pace in the second half as they were outscored 31-18. The Pirates finished just 11-55 from the field, 6-32 from behind the arc as the Banana Slugs ran away. Dewey led Whitworth with 14 points, but shot just 3-13 from the field, Cheyenne Rodgers added six points as the second highest scorer.

The Opponents: Walla Walla (1-1) opened their season with an 87-48 win over Northwest Indian College before falling 69-63 to Montana Tech on Sunday. Thursday night against Whitworth will be their first road game of the year.

The Wolves have been excellent early in the first two games, they've outscored their opponents 45-21 in the first quarter shooting 48.5% in the opening frame. They're led by Jaliyah Casem and Chariah Daniels who've led the team in scoring and rebounding. Casem is averaging 17 points and five assists through two games; Daniels is averaging 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds. Walla Walla is coached by Tony Nakashima who's in his third season. Nakashima led the Wolves to a historic season last year in which they won the most conference games in program history.

This will be the third straight season that Whitworth will face Walla Walla, the sixth time in school history. The Pirates are 5-0 in the series history including a 63-57 win over the Wolves in 2022.

Northwest Nazarene (2-2) will host the Pirates on Saturday. The Nighthawks are averaging 69.7 points per game, but they've shot an excellent 40.7% from behind the arc (24-59 through four games).

Madeline Gerbers leads the Nighthawks in scoring (19.3 ppg), three-pointers (10), and three-point percentage (62.5%). She scored a season high of 21 in a win against Cal Poly Humboldt on Monday. The Nighthawks are coached by Steve Steele who's in his eighth season with the program. Through seven seasons he's posted a record of 121-62 (82-34 in GNAC play.

Whitworth is 0-2 all-time against Northwest Nazarene. The last meeting was in 2019 where the Nighthawks beat Whitworth 90-61 in Nampa.

Dewey's dominance: Through two games, Kimberly Dewey looks like she may play an even bigger role for Whitworth this year. Dewey started all 25 games last season, and 18 in 2021, but she's been the Pirates main threat this year. She scored a career-high 27 points in the Pirates opening win over Sul Ross State, and she's averaging 20.5 points through two games, nearly double her average last season. Dewey is also averaging a career best 6.5 rebounds.

Defense wins: The season is young, but the Pirates defense has been excellent in the early going. Currently it leads the NWC in shot percentage allowed (27.8%) and turnovers forced (37).

Too many turnovers: The Pirates will seek to take care of the ball better going forward. Through two games, Whitworth leads the NWC with 47 offensive turnovers.

The Coach: Kenny Love is in his second season as the Whitworth women's coach. He moved over from the men's coaching staff in 2021 where he was an assistant coach since 2017. Love has been involved in lots of Whitworth's basketball operations including scouting, recruiting, budget management, and summer camp organization. Love himself is a former Pirate player who earned first team All-NWC recognition three times and was the 2015 NWC Player of the Year.

Looking ahead: Whitworth will begin NWC play by hosting Willamette and Pacific on Dec. 1-2. The Pirates were a combined 0-4 against them last season, but they will look to start off their conference schedule on the right foot this year.