By: Caden Frank
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth women's basketball returns from Christmas break to a pair of conference games. The Pirates will open the week at home against Whitman on Jan. 2 at 6:00, and they'll hit the road to play Lewis & Clark on Jan. 5 at 6:00.
Check the Whitworth women's basketball scheduling page 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 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 (3-8 overall, 0-2 NWC) went 1-2 over the break in California, beating Claremont-Mudd-Scripps before falling to Occidental and Chapman.
The Pirates opened up their trip with a 59-48 win over CMS as freshman Zalissa Sanfo pulled down 18 boards. Whitworth held CMS to 28% from the floor, and Kimberly Dewey led the offense with 16 points in a game which they never trailed in (their largest lead was 18).
Two days later, Whitworth lost to Occidental 75-57 after the Tigers used a 23-9 run to pull away from the Pirates. Sanfo posted 17 points and 13 rebounds in that game (her second double-double of the week) but Whitworth couldn't overcome a 38-point game from Thompson who led Occidental. Whitworth closed its road trip with a narrow 72-69 loss at Chapman. Trailing 70-62 in the final minutes, Dewey's three sparked a 7-0 run to pull the Pirates within one. With six seconds left and Whitworth trailing by three, the offense couldn't get off a clean shot and the Panthers held on.
Through 11 games, Whitworth is scoring 58.4 points per game (7th in the NWC) on 33.9% from the floor (8th) and giving up 66.4 points per game (7th). They average 18.7 turnovers per game and force just 14.
Kimberly Dewey is racking up 16 points per game, tied with Whitman's Baker Korin for the most points scored in the conference. Sanfo is also leading the conference with 11 rebounds per game, marking an excellent start to her freshman season.
The Opponents: Whitman (9-2 overall, 1-1 NWC) has won seven straight games since their loss to Willamette on Dec. 2. The Blues are averaging 69.1 points per game (3rd in the NWC) shooting a conference-best 41.7% from the field (31% from three), while allowing 54.7 points defensively. Their offense is led by Korin Baker and Carly Martin, the duo averages 16 and 15.7 points per game which ranks second and third in the conference behind Whitworth's Kimberly Dewey. The pair also tops the conference in field goal percentage (Baker shooting 52%, Martin 42%), and Martin leads the NWC with 25 three-pointers at a 29.1% clip. As a team, the Blues rank second in three pointers (89) but they've hit just 31% from behind the arc (5th in the NWC).
Whitworth is looking to snap a five-game skid versus Whitman, their last win over the Blues was a 61-58 road win in February of 2021. The Blues have won the last two conference championships, and are in pursuit of a three-peat in 2023.
Lewis & Clark (1-8 overall, 0-2 NWC) is riding a seven-game losing streak coming into the week, they're lone win was on Nov. 18 against Warner Pacific University. The Pioneers have struggled on both sides of the ball, scoring 55.7 points per game (8th in the NWC) while allowing a conference-worst 70.8 per game. Lewis & Clark has taken care of the ball well with the 2nd lowest turnover total, but they've shot just 33% from the field, 23.5% from three, and 60.9% from the free throw line (9th, 9th, and 8th in the NWC respectively).
Charlotte Carroll leads the Pirates in both scoring and field goal percentage with 9.7 points on 40.7% shooting. Lauryn Fredrickson leads the Pioneers with 8.1 rebounds per game, nearly two more than the next-closest rebounder.
Whitworth has split their season series with the Pioneers the last two seasons, but the last time the two programs met in Spokane, Lewis & Clark came away with a 93-90 win in double overtime. Whitworth leads the all-time series 14-12.
Conference leading Pirates: Kimberly Dewey's 16 points per game have put her on top of the conference in scoring, while Zalissa Sanfo's breakout season continues as the freshman leads the NWC with 11 rebounds per game after a stellar run of games this month.
Tuesday's scoring showdown: Whitworth and Whitman meet Tuesday night in a game that will feature the conference's top three scorers. Whitworth's Kimberly Dewey and Whitman's Korin Baker are both averaging 16 points per game, while Carly Martin is close behind averaging 15.7 per game. All three scorers will play a major role in Tuesday's rivalry game.
Pirate shooting struggles: Getting shots to fall has been a challenge for Whitworth this season, the team has shot just 33.9% this season (just 0.6% ahead of last-place Lewis & Clark).
The Coach: Kenny Love is in his second season as the Whitworth women's head coach. He moved over from the men's coaching staff in 2021, and has been involved in lots of Whitworth's basketball operations since 2017 (scouting, recruiting, budgeting, etc). Love is a former Pirate who earned first team All-Conference honors three times and was the 2015 NWC Player of the Year.
Looking ahead: The Pirates will be on the road next week as they head out of state to take on George Fox and Linfield on Jan. 12-13.
