By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University women's basketball team will be back at Whitworth Fieldhouse for two Northwest Conference challenges this week. The Pirates host Whitman on Tuesday before Linfield comes to town on Friday. Both games are set to begin at 8:00pm and scheduled as the second half of men's-women's doubleheaders.
Tuesday's game will be televised on SWX. Check the Whitworth women's basketball schedule for live links to this week's games.
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 (6-9, 3-3 Northwest Conference) dropped two games on their first conference road trip of the season last weekend.
The Pirates fell 72-50 to George Fox on Friday night. The Bruins' hot shooting led to win in which they matched a season-high in field goal percentage (50%). Alex Goetz put the Bucs within three with a long-distance jumper before going to halftime down 30-24. Whitworth forced 17 turnovers in the first half but could only capitalize with eight points from those takeaways. After a high-scoring third quarter, the Pirates were held to just three field goals in the fourth quarter and were unable to close the gap. Ashlyn Peterson led the Pirates with 11 points and Keely Maves added 10. Whitworth shot 30.4% (17-56) from the field.
On Saturday, the Pirates lost a battle with Pacific 66-59. Alex Goetz led the Pirates offensive attack with 19 points in the contest, tied for a season high. She scored seven straight points two different times as part of a 16-point first half, which included a run to tie the game at 28 late in the second quarter. The Boxers went on a run to start the third quarter, but the Pirates responded once again. With a four-point deficit heading into the fourth, the Pirates struggled offensively and only made two field goals in the final frame. Ashlyn Peterson made two free throws to cut the lead to five, but they could not get any closer. Goetz led all scorers, and Peterson filled the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
The Opponents: Whitman makes the trip to Spokane with a 14-1 overall record and 6-0 NWC mark. The seventh ranked Blues were defeated in the first round of the NWC tournament last season after two-straight NWC tournament championships. They are talented on both ends of the court, leading the NWC in scoring offense (69.7) and defense (49.1). The Blues are led by the top two scorers in the conference in senior forward Korin Baker (18.7 ppg) and senior guard Carly Martin (16.7 ppg). Baker is a two-time NWC player of the year and has been named women's basketball Student-Athlete of the Week four times this season, while Martin was a first team All-NWC selection last season. Whitworth has lost seven straight matchups with the Blues, the latest win coming on February 26th, 2021.
Linfield (13-2 overall, 4-2 NWC) visits on a two-game winning streak after defeating Lewis & Clark 65-52 and Willamette 61-45 last weekend. The Wildcats are second to Whitman in both scoring offense (66.4 ppg) and scoring margin (11.9). While a strong offensive and defensive team, they may be the strongest on the glass with a NWC leading 10.7 rebounding margin. Four players average in double figures for the Wildcats, led by senior center Gillyan Landis with 12.4 points per game. Sophomore guard Allie Mead is just outside double figures with 9.2 points per game but leads the conference in assists (4.2). Whitworth has won the last four matchups with Linfield, the latest being a 69-54 win in Spokane on February 9th, 2024.
NWC Standings: Whitman remains in top spot in the NWC with a 6-0 conference record. Linfield jumped into second with Puget Sound, each at 4-2. George Fox (3-3) and Whitworth (3-3) sit tied for fourth while Pacific, Pacific Lutheran, and Willamette are all 2-4 and looking to get back in the race.
From Downtown: The Pirates have not been shy putting up shots from beyond the arc this season. The Bucs average 26.3 three-point attempts per game, ranking first in the NWC. They are making these shots at a 28.2% clip and their 7.4 three-point field goals made per game rank second in the NWC. Ashlyn Peterson leads the Pirates with 25 three-pointers and Alex Goetz is close behind with 24.
The Charity Stripe: In NWC games this season, the Pirates have gotten to the free throw line at an impressive rate. During that stretch, Whitworth shot 139 free throws, 25 more than the next team and made 110 of them, 23 more than the team below them. The Pirates rank second in the NWC with a 79.1 team free-throw percentage in conference play. Whitworth's effectiveness at the charity stripe may be a key to upcoming conference matchups.
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 stuffing the stat sheet, averaging 8.7 points, a team-leading 8.1 rebounds (second in the NWC), 2.9 assists (eighth in the NWC), one block (tied for fifth in the NWC) and 2.1 steals (fourth in the NWC) per game. Bair is also third in the NWC in assist/turnover ratio at 1.7.
The Maestro: Ashlyn Peterson has shown her ability to orchestrate the offense in an impactful freshman season. Peterson's 63 total assists and 4.1 assists per game rank second in the NWC. Along with her ability to distribute, she is fifth in the NWC in scoring and leads the Pirates with 14.2 points per game. Her 1.9 steals per game are tied for sixth in the conference. She has been the top scorer for the Pirates in eight of 15 games this season and rarely comes off the court, leading the conference in minutes per game (36.3).
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 8.3 points per game on 47.6% shooting from the field, ranking 10th in the NWC. Mya Bair is shooting 44.2% from the field, which ranks 14th 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 25-40 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: The Pirates will begin the second half of NWC play with road matchups at Puget Sound on January 31st and Pacific Lutheran on February 1st.
