SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth women's basketball will face a split week as it tries to bounce back from a pair of losses to the Northwest Conference leaders. The Pirates will be at Whitman on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before hosting Lewis & Clark on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Check the Whitworth athletics scheduling page for live links to all the week's action including links to streaming and statistics.

The Pirates: Whitworth (6-13 overall, 3-7 NWC) is coming off a tough pair of losses to Pacific and Willamette last weekend which put them in sixth place in the conference, two games back from fifth-place Linfield.

Whitworth was blown out on Friday night by Pacific, a 74-40 loss that was largely due to a season-high 27 turnovers and a 21% field goal percentage. The Bucs made six first quarter field goals and came out trailing just 20-16, but the Boxers were dominant from there. Whitworth hit just four field goals the rest of the game to finish 10-48 from the field, and because of the turnovers the Pirates attempted 25 less shots than Pacific who finished 28-73 (38%). Kimberly Dewey was the only Pirate in double figures with 12 points. Whitworth has lost eight straight to Pacific dating back to January of 2019.

On Saturday in Salem, Whitworth came out hot knocking down four threes in the first quarter including two from Emma Maxwell who scored a career-high 17 points to lead all scorers. Maxwell also buried a last-second jumper to give the Pirates a 20-14 lead over Willamette heading into the second quarter. Once again though, the final three quarters were not kind to the Pirates as they were outscored 52-27, managing to hit just 10-44 from the field in that stretch. The Pirates fell behind by as much as 22 before trimming the final score to 66-47. Dewey joined Maxwell in double figures with 11 on 4-14 shooting.

Whitworth struggled to keep pace with the conference front runners outside of the first quarter. The Pirates shot a combined 17% in quarters two through four last weekend (13.5% from three) and were outscored 106-51 in that stretch.

On the season, Whitworth is averaging 57.1 points per game while allowing 64.8 (both 8^th in the NWC). The Pirates 33% shooting is last in the conference, their -2.84 turnover margin is second-worst in the league.

The Pirates have still leaned on Dewey for steady scoring, she's averaging 16.4 points per game after this weekend which is tied with Whitman's Korin Baker (the two will face off Tuesday as co-scoring leaders for the second time this season). Zalissa Sanfo pulled down a combined 17 rebounds in the two games last weekend to keep herself atop the conference in rebounds.

The Opponents: Whitman (14-5 overall, 6-4 NWC) is up first for Whitworth, with both teams coming off a pair of losses in Oregon and looking to turn things around with a win on Tuesday.

Whitman came into the season as the favorites to win the conference, but a pair of losses to Pacific and Willamette dropped the Blues to fourth in the standings. Whitman beat the Pirates 58-52 in the first game of the year, and they come in as winners in 14 of the last 15 against Whitworth. Whitman is shooting 40.4% this season (second in the NWC) and scoring 66.4 points per game while allowing a conference-best 53.7. The Blues have attempted just 262 free throws and made 66% from the line (both eighth in the conference).

The Blues are led by Korin Baker and Carly Martin, the two have combined to score 46.5% of Whitman's total points this season averaging a combined 30.9 points per game. Baker and Dewey are tied for a conference-leading 16.4 points per game, Baker is shooting 51.5% from the field. Martin averages 14.5 per game and leads the conference with 41 threes at a 33% clip. Whitman will lean on the pair of scorers as they try to stay in the conference tournament picture, a loss to Whitworth could drop them below Linfield. The Blues are coached by Michelle Ferenz who's led the program since 2001, and led Whitman to the Division III national tournament five of the past eight seasons.

Lewis & Clark (3-15 overall, 1-9 NWC) will travel to Spokane on Saturday to close the week. Whitworth edged the Pioneers 55-51 in the first meeting between the teams in Portland after Dewey's three point play in the final minute. The Pioneers come into the week on a five-game losing streak since their lone conference win over Pacific Lutheran on Jan. 12.

Lewis & Clark is scoring 57.1 points per game while giving up a conference-worst 68.2 points per game on 40.1% opponent field goal percentage. The Pioneers are shooting 34.9% which is eighth in the conference (1.8% better than Whitworth), however they rank last in free throw percentage, hitting just 63.4% from the stripe.

Jamison Richards leads L&C with 10.4 points per game on 29.8% from the field, but also leads the team with 41 assists. Lauryn Fredrickson holds down the post, averaging eight boards per game to go along with 7.2 points per game (fourth on the team). L&C is coached by Ann Dorris who's in her third season leading the program's rebuild, she's 2-3 against Whitworth.

Top scorers duel (Part two): For the second time this year, Kimberly Dewey and Korin Baker will come into the game tied for the conference-lead in scoring. In the first 'Battle of the Whits,' Dewey and Baker came in tied with a conference-leading 16 points per game. Baker led Whitman to a 58-52 win and led all scorers with 26 points including 20 first half points. Dewey was not far off though scoring 23 in that game. Both girls come into Tuesday averaging 16.4 points per game seeking to lead their respective sides out of a losing streak.

Boards and Blocks: Zalissa Sanfo remains the conference leader in rebounds with 154 (10.2 per game). She's recorded 10+ rebounds in 10 games this season, and reached 20 rebounds twice. Sanfo is ninth in Division III with 58 blocks (3.05 per game).

Maxwell breaks out: Emma Maxwell had her best game as a Pirate on Saturday. The transfer from Columbia Basin led Whitworth with 17 points including 5-7 from three point range, adding three rebounds, and one assist without a turnover.

Second half cold spells: During this three game skid the Pirates have been ice cold in the second half. Through the last three games Whitworth has shot a combined 13.4% (9-67) in the second half, including 4-32 from deep (12.5%). 

The Coach: Kenny Love is in his second season as the Whitworth women's head coach. He moved over from the men's staff in 2021, and before that was involved in lots of Whitworth's basketball operations including scouting, recruiting, budgeting, and youth camps. Love is a former Pirate player who earned first team All-Conference honors three times, and was also the 2015 Northwest Conference Player of the Year.

Looking ahead: Whitworth will play its final home games of the season as it hosts Linfield and George Fox on Feb. 10 and 11.