By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's basketball team officially begins the 2025-26 season this weekend at the Kim Evanger Raney Memorial Classic in Walla Walla. The Pirates will play first-time opponents Wisconsin-Platteville on Friday at 4:00pm and St. Thomas (TX) on Saturday at 10:00am.
Check the Whitworth women's basketball schedule for live links to this week's games.
Watch on FloCollege: All of Whitworth's Northwest Conference athletic events will be streamed through FloCollege in 2025-26. Fans can sign up to watch Pirate sports on the FloCollege portal. Registration is $116 for an annual subscription or $20 per month. Those who register with a .edu email address get a significant discount.
Pirate basketball games are called by Bud Nameck who enters his 11th season as the voice of Whitworth basketball. An Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Famer, Nameck has more than 30 years of experience calling college basketball at Gonzaga University and Washington State.
The Pirates: Whitworth is coming off a 75-49 exhibition loss to Montana Tech last Saturday at Whitworth Fieldhouse. The Bucs played tough in the first quarter, but the pace and size of the Orediggers helped extend their lead. The high-level competition hopes to give the team an early edge in preparation heading into the regular season schedule.
The Opponents: University of Wisconsin-Platteville, a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), heads into this week following a two-point win over Loras College last weekend. The Pioneers finished last season with an 8-17 overall record and returned an experienced group with six seniors. UW-Platteville shot 44.6% from the field and made six of 15 (.400) three-point attempts in their first contest. Turnovers may be something to watch as the Pioneer defense forced 18 turnovers and had 13 steals last week. They are led by senior guard Ella Mackiewicz, who earned All-WIAC Honorable Mention recognition last season and led the team with 18 points in their first game. Junior Center Tatum Weir provides size down low. The Pioneers will play tournament host Whitman on Saturday.
University of St. Thomas, located in Houston, Texas, joins the Kim Evanger Raney Memorial Classic field from the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC). Led by the SCAC coach of the year Mansa El, the Celts were 14-10 overall last season and fell to Trinity in the SCAC Tournament quarterfinal. UST began the season with a 95-85 loss to Texas A&M International last weekend. In that matchup, the Celts shot 36-75 (.480) from the floor and turned the ball over 28 times. Senior guard Amyia Bowie returns to lead UST after earning third-team All-SCAC honors last season. Junior guard Macie Whifield led the team with 21 points and 10 rebounds last weekend. The Celts will battle Whitman on Friday.
Young Bucs: For the second consecutive season, the Whitworth women do not have a senior on their roster. Of the 15 players, 12 are freshmen or sophomores. Led by 2024-25 Northwest Conference Rookie of the Year Ashlyn Peterson, the Bucs' young core has significant experience to build from as they look to take another jump this season.
The Coach: Kenny Love is in his fourth 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 27-48 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.
