By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University women's basketball team returns to the court with a busy week of competition. The Pirates host Mary Hardin-Baylor on Friday at 6:00 pm before taking a second trip to California for three non-conference road matchups, the first of which being La Verne on December 16th, followed by Chapman on December 17th and California Lutheran on December 18th.
Check the Whitworth women's basketball schedule for live links to this week's games. Please note that there may be a fee charged to stream the matchups at La Verne, Chapman and Cal Lutheran.
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. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for senior adults, non-Whitworth students and children. Whitworth students, as well as faculty and staff, get free admission by using an ID number.
The Pirates: Whitworth (3-2) earned a win in its home opener on November 21st before splitting a pair of games in California.
The Pirates took down visiting Walla Walla 67-59 for their first win at Whitworth Fieldhouse this season. Each team traded runs throughout the game before Whitworth outscored Walla Walla 21-15 in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. Ashlyn Peterson scored a season-high 24 points on 8-13 shooting and Mya Bair grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Pirates. They finished the game shooting 43.9% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc.
On November 23rd, the Pirates defeated Caltech 63-41. Whitworth never trailed and showed strong defense while holding the Beavers to just 25.4% shooting from the field. Keely Maves scored her season-high 20 points on an efficient 9-13 shooting display. Ashlyn Peterson scored nine points and had five assists while Ashlyn Neilsen also scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Whitworth shot 36.4% from the field.
The Pirates were defeated by Whittier 67-57 in the second game of the road trip on November 24th. Whitworth could not overcome its worst shooting night of the season (28.8%) while Whittier capitalized on a large free throw margin to close the game. The Pirate defense held strong as they forced 15 turnovers, but they were outrebounded 58-36. Whitworth was led in scoring by Julianna Jeross who had 15 points and 4 rebounds off the bench. Addyson Gallatin also scored in double digits with 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.
The Opponents: Mary Hardin-Baylor makes the trip to Spokane after a 6-1 start to the season. The Crusaders are on a three-game winning streak after defeating Nebraska Wesleyan 76-43, Trinity 80-65 and Texas Lutheran 66-56. They will matchup with NWC opponent Whitman on Thursday before visiting Whitworth. Mary-Hardin Baylor is led in scoring by junior forward Josie Bruder at 12.8 points per game. Senior guard Jaycie Brisco impacts the game on both ends of the court, averaging 9.7 points and leading the team in both rebounds (10.4) and steals (2.9) per game. The Crusaders have shown the ability to force tough shots and control the glass. They have forced opponents to shoot just 30.1% from the field (eighth in NCAA Division III) and outrebound opponents by 12.4 rebounds per game (14th in DIII) this season. Mary-Hardin Baylor defeated Whitworth 72-56 in the last matchup between these teams on November 18th, 2016.
La Verne hosts Whitworth with a 2-6 record after coming off a double overtime loss to Chapman last week. The Leopards host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday before playing Whitworth on Monday. Freshman guard Justine Prajitno leads La Verne with 16.8 points per game, although she has not appeared in the Leopards' last four contests. Marissa Howell, a senior guard, will be a force offensively coming off a 27-point performance. Like Whitworth, the Leopards are not shy to shoot from beyond the arc, averaging 32.5 three-point attempts per game, fifth in DIII. The Pirates last played La Verne on November 18th, 2017 when Whitworth got the win 95-73.
Chapman will play Whitworth with a 3-5 record to start the season. The Panthers are coming off back-to-back wins over La Verne (104-101) and Caltech (68-60). Chapman has no seniors on its roster and is led by a group of strong sophomores. Four Panther players average double figures in scoring, including sophomore forward Shanna Brown who is putting up 19.8 points per game. Sophomore forward Layla Woods leads the team with 5.9 rebounds per game while scoring 14.4 points per game. Free throw shooting could be a key to this matchup, as Chapman ranks fourth in DIII in free throw percentage (81.3%) on 15.4 attempts per game. Whitworth fell to the Panthers 72-69 on December 21st, 2023.
California Lutheran (3-3) hosts the Pirates after dropping its last two games. The Regals fell to Pomona-Pitzer 64-61 on Wednesday before losing to Redlands 73-57 on Saturday. Cal Lutheran brings size to their lineup and spread-out offensive production. Sophomore forward Alline Ballard has had two straight double-doubles and leads the Regals with 11.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Whitworth's ability to knock down three-pointers will be tested as Cal Lutheran holds opponents to just 20.7% shooting from three. Cal Lutheran took down Whitworth 66-47 in their last matchup on December 29th, 2022.
From Downtown: The Pirates have not been shy putting up shots from beyond the arc in their first five games of the season. The Bucs average 30 three-point attempts per game, ranking 10th in all of Division III. They are making these shots at a 28% clip and their 8.4 three-point field goals made per game leads the NWC. Julianna Jeross leads Whitworth with 12 three-pointers made, followed by Ashlyn Peterson with eight. Mya Bair leads the Northwest Conference in three-point field goal percentage at 50% (7-14).
Lone Vet: With the Pirates' new look roster, junior guard Mya Bair is the only player to have previously started a game in a Whitworth uniform. Bair started 24 of 25 games for the Pirates in the 2023-24 season while putting up 7.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Her energy, effort and experience show on both sides of the ball while leading a fresh team looking to make its mark. This season, she is averaging 9.8 points, a team-leading 7.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
The Maestro: Pirate freshman Ashlyn Peterson has shown her ability to orchestrate the offense in her first five career games. Peterson's 5.2 assists per game is 16th in Division III and leads the NWC. Along with her ability to distribute, she has taken care of the ball and boasts a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio that is sixth in the NWC.
Efficiency: Whitworth junior Keely Maves has made her presence felt in the paint and scored in an incredibly efficient manner to start the season. She is averaging 9.8 points per game on 56.2% shooting from the field, ranking ninth in the NWC. Freshman Addyson Gallatin is making her shots at 51.9% off the bench which is 11th in the NWC.
The Coach: Kenny Love is in his third season as the Whitworth women's basketball coach. He moved over from the men's coaching staff in 2021 where he was an assistant coach since 2017. Love has a career head coaching record of 22-33 at Whitworth. 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 host Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound to kick off NWC play on January 3-4.
