By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth women's basketball wraps up 2025 with a trip to Honolulu to participate in the Hoops in Hawaii Classic. The Pirates will battle first time opponents St. Norbert College on Sunday and Albion College on Monday. Both games will start at 11:00am local time and 1:00pm PST.
Check the Whitworth women's basketball schedule for live links to this week's games.
Hoops in Hawaii Classic: The 2025 Hoops in Hawaii Classic, hosted by Hawaii Pacific University, includes NCAA DII, DIII and NAIA men's and women's basketball teams from across the country. The NCAA DIII colleges and universities include Whitworth University, Linfield University, St. Norbert College, Albion College, Knox College and McMurry University.
Streaming for this tournament will require a paid subscription found at the watch link on the Whitworth women's basketball schedule page.
The Pirates: Whitworth fell to 1-6 with a pair of home losses this week.
The Bucs fell 72-70 to Benedictine on Sunday afternoon. Whitworth trailed by just one in the second half, but the Eagles opened an efficient fourth quarter on a 12-2 run to pull away. The Pirates shot 44% and turned the ball over 22 times. Alex Goetz scored a season-high 23 points and Ashlyn Peterson added 16.
Whitworth lost a hard-fought 67-62 battle with visiting UC Santa Cruz on Wednesday. The Banana Slugs took control of the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Pirates 20-2 and taking a 44-21 lead into halftime. Whitworth battled back to just a one-point deficit in the fourth quarter and outscored UCSC 41-23 in the second half, but couldn't break through. Peterson led all scorers with 21 points while CC Size had 11. Goetz scored 10 points and dished six assists. Ava DePew stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two steals.
The Opponents: St. Norbert heads into this weekend with a 3-4 overall record. The Green Knights took home a share of the 2024-25 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference title and lost in the NACC tournament championship game. St. Norbert averages 65.9 points and gives up 61.0 per game. They are a very strong free throw shooting team at 81.6%, third best in DIII. The Green Knights are led by the 2024-25 NACC player of the year Taylor Thiry, who posts 16.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game at forward. Rose Hahn and Marnie Kahl are second on the team in scoring at 9.0 points per game each. Sunday's matchup will be Whitworth's first against St. Norbert.
Albion is 7-2 heading into the Hoops in Hawaii Classic. The Britons will play Knox College on Sunday before their first ever matchup against the Pirates. Albion is a strong offense team, averaging 74.1 points per game. They rank 25th in the country in field goal percentage (43.6) and 10th in three-point percentage (36.1). The Britons are led by junior guard Meghan Trewhella who leads the team in scoring at 20.9 points per game. Senior guard Ava Guilford averages 11.9 points and leads the team in rebounds (7.3), assists (4.9), and steals (3.0) per game.
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 28-54 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.
Up Next: Whitworth will open Northwest Conference play at home against Willamette and Pacific (Ore.) on January 2nd and 3rd.
