By: Caden Frank
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth women's basketball will open up conference play this weekend at home as first halves of two women's-men's doubleheader. The Pirates host Willamette on Friday at 6:00 and Pacific on Saturday at 4:00.
Check the Whitworth women's basketball schedule for live links to all the 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, 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 (1-3) has lost three straight since its win over Sul Ross State in the opener.
The Pirates fell to Walla Walla 62-56 on Nov. 16 after facing a 20-point halftime deficit. The Pirates dug themselves into a 38-18 deficit after shooting 7-36 in the first half (2-20 from three) but were much sharper in the second half as they cut the Wolves deficit to three with 3:54 to go. Cheyenne Rodgers led the team with 14 points, her season high.
Following the close home loss Whitworth hit the road for a tough game against Northwest Nazarene in which they stuck around early but were eventually outmatched. The Nighthawks scored 50 of their points in the paint while shooting 47% from behind the arc.
Whitworth has struggled to find a rhythm offensively due to a high turnover rate combined with a low field goal percentage. Through four games, the Pirates are shooting 30.5% from the field (25.2% from three) and averaging 20.8 turnovers per game.
Kimberly Dewey has been the biggest threat offensively for Whitworth, the senior is averaging 16 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while leading the team in total assists (7). Dewey also highlights the team in total threes (7), 3-point percentage (30.7%), and free throws (23). The Pirates will look to her for a spark on the offensive side as they enter conference play.
The Opponents: Willamette (2-4) was projected to finish 4th in the NWC according to the preseason coaches poll. The Bearcats come into the conference opener off a 91-58 win over Illinois Tech.
Willamette swept the Pirates last season. The Bearcats average 61 points per game shooting 38% from the field (3rd in the NWC). Like Whitworth, Willamette loves the three ball. The Bearcats have shot 26.8 threes per game and have hit 28% of those attempts, so Whitworth will need to be active on the perimeter. Elyse Waldal has been the player to watch for the Bearcats. Waldal leads the team with 11.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Junior forward has stretched the floor burying 10 threes at a 43.5% clip (3rd in the NWC). Willamette is coached by Peg Swadener who's in her 12th year.
Pacific (3-2) was projected to finish 3rd in the NWC according to the preseason poll. The Boxers have looked the part through a difficult non-conference schedule.
Pacific will finish its weekend off in Spokane on Saturday afternoon, as the Boxers look to extend their win streak to seven against the Pirates. Pacific is coming off two wins in its trip to Texas last week. The Boxers offense has been sharp through five games; they currently lead the NWC in scoring (69.2 points per game) and field goal percentage (39.8%). Pacific has looked to attack inside and capitalize on easy looks and second-chance points. They lead the conference in total rebounding (44.8 per game) with 14 of those coming on the offensive end each game. The Pirates will try to force Pacific to operate outside the paint, so far Pacific has not fared well from the outside. They've shot just 24% from three, making just five per game (9th in the NWC in both categories).
The Boxers are led by Brilie Kovaloff and Sydney Gray. Both rank top 10 in the conference in scoring (Kovaloff averaging 13.2, Gray 13.0). However, it's Rilee Price who's the Boxers' distributor, she leads the conference with 25 assists. Pacific is coached by Alecia Parker who's in her fourth season as head coach, Parker led Pacific to its best season in program history last year with a 19-8 record.
How 'Dewey' guard her? Opponents haven't found an answer to this question so far. Dewey is currently third in the NWC in scoring, averaging a career-high 16 points per game. She's led the Pirates in scoring in three out of the four games and leads the Pirate offense in virtually every statistic. She's been remarkable from the stripe as well, knocking down 23 of 25 attempts.
Shots aren't falling: Through four games, the Pirates are making just 17 field goals per game (the lowest in the NWC).
Getting to the line: Despite struggles from the floor, Whitworth has been excellent from the free throw line. As a team they've shot 73% from the line, nearly a quarter (22%) of their total points have come from free throws.
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 since 2017. Love has been involved in lots of Whitworth's basketball operations including scouting, recruiting, budgeting, and summer camp organization. Love himself is a former Pirate who earned first team All-conference honors three times and was the 2015 NWC Player of the Year.
Looking ahead: Whitworth will get back to non-conference games for a while as they head to Wall Walla to play Colorado College and Schreiner on Dec. 8-9. The doubleheader will kick off a series of four straight road games before getting back home on Jan. 2.
