By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University women's basketball team continues Northwest Conference play in Spokane this weekend. The Pirates host Willamette on Friday at 8:00pm and Lewis & Clark on Saturday at 6:00pm. Both games are scheduled as the second half of men's-women's doubleheaders.
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 (4-7, 1-1 NWC) split a pair of games during the first weekend of conference play last weekend.
The Pirates took down Pacific Lutheran 56-53 on Friday for their first NWC win of the season and ended a five-game losing streak. Whitworth led by two at halftime before the Bucs began the third quarter on a 7-3 run, but the Lutes responded and battled back. With the game in balance late in the fourth quarter, Julianna Jeross hit two clutch free throws to go up by three. PLU had an opportunity to tie with a three-pointer just before the buzzer but would not get the shot to fall. Whitworth maintained a lead for 34 minutes of game time, although their largest lead was just seven. Free throws made the difference as the Pirates knocked down 17 of 18 attempts while the Lutes made just three of nine from the line. Ashlyn Peterson led the Pirates in scoring with 12 and had four steals. Jeross and Keely Maves each had eight points while Mya Bair grabbed 11 rebounds. Whitworth shot 29.1% from the field.
On Saturday, the Pirates fell to Puget Sound 92-75. Whitworth allowed a season-high point total to the Loggers, who finished the game with a 49.3% field goal percentage and made 52.4% of their three-pointers. The Pirates went on a 9-2 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 81-76, but they could not sustain the momentum as the Loggers kept fresh bodies on the court with frequent substitutions. Ashlyn Peterson again led the Pirates in scoring with 17 and had three steals. Alex Goetz, Julianna Jeross and Mya Bair each had 13 points. Bair grabbed 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Whitworth shot 33.3% from the field and made 25 of 32 free throw attempts (78.1%).
The Opponents:
Willamette (5-6) travels to Spokane after defeating George Fox 66-56 on Friday for their second NWC win of the season in as many games. The Bearcats beat Lewis & Clark 76-72 in overtime on December 6th to get their first conference win. Willamette had five players earn All-NWC honors last season and returned two of them. The first of which is senior forward Elyse Waldal, who earned first-team All-NWC recognition last season and her 15.9 points per game ranks second in the NWC. Waldal is second on the team in rebounding at 4.7 per game and makes 40.6% of her three-point attempts. Junior guard Kaitlin Imai leads the Bearcats with 3.4 assists per game and averages 15.3 points per game, fourth in the NWC. Imai was named NWC women's basketball Student-Athlete of the Week on January 6th. Willamette leads the conference in three-point field goals made per game at 8.7 and makes 32.2% of attempts. The Bearcats have swept the season series with the Pirates the last two seasons, with the last Whitworth win coming on January 28th, 2022, by a score of 66-63 in Spokane.
Lewis & Clark visits Spokane with a 2-8 overall record and an 0-2 NWC record. The Pioneers were defeated by Pacific 63-51 on Saturday and lost 76-72 to Willamette on December 6th, with a 51-43 win over UC Santa Cruz in between. L&C plays Whitman on Friday before heading to Spokane on Saturday. Sophomore forward Lauren Frederickson is a player to watch as she leads the team in points (14.4), rebounds (10.6) and steals per game (1.3). Madilyn Palosi, a sophomore guard, is second on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game while starting just two of her nine games played. The Pioneers rank eighth in the NWC in field goal percentage (35.7) and second in team free-throw percentage (75.5). Whitworth has split the season series with L&C the past three seasons, including a 55-51 win in Portland and 90-89 overtime loss in Spokane last season.
From Downtown: The Pirates have not been shy putting up shots from beyond the arc this season. The Bucs average 29.3 three-point attempts per game, ranking 13th in all of Division III. They are making these shots at a 28% clip and their 8.2 three-point field goals made per game rank second in the NWC. Julianna Jeross leads Whitworth with 24 three-pointers made, followed by Ashlyn Peterson with 19. Mya Bair leads the Northwest Conference in three-point field goal percentage at 45.2% (14-31).
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 9.5 points, a team-leading 8.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.7 steals per game. Bair also leads the NWC in assist to turnover ration at 2.1.
The Maestro: Pirate freshman Ashlyn Peterson has shown her ability to orchestrate the offense in her first five career games. Peterson's 50 total assists and 4.5 assists per game leads the NWC. Along with her ability to distribute, she leads the Pirates in scoring at 14 points per game and her two steals per game rank fifth in the NWC. She has been the top scorer for the Pirates in six of 11 games this season.
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 7.8 points per game on 50.7% shooting from the field, ranking seventh in the NWC. Mya Bair is shooting 45.6% from the field, which ranks 16th 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 23-38 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 travel to Oregon for its first NWC road trip to visit George Fox on January 17th and Pacific on January 18th.
