By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University women's basketball team will play its final home games of the season this weekend against Pacific (Ore.) on Friday (8:00pm) and George Fox on Saturday (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 (8-13 overall, 5-7 Northwest Conference) split a pair of games for the second straight weekend.
The Pirates swept the season series with Lewis & Clark after a 73-49 victory over the Pioneers on Friday night. Whitworth made six of seven three-point attempts and jumped out to an early 25-11 lead in its best shooting quarter of the season. The Pirates started the second quarter on a 7-0 run and extended their lead to 21 on three occasions. After a 46-24 halftime lead, the Bucs came out cold in the third quarter and L&C pulled within 14. Whitworth responded with consecutive long-range buckets from Addyson Gallatin and Ashlyn Peterson before opening a 65-40 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Pirates shot 38.3% from the field and a season-high 42.3% from beyond the arc. Gallatin matched her career-high 15 points with five three-pointers while Ashlyn Nielsen surpassed her career-high with 15 points. Peterson also added 15 while Mya Bair grabbed 12 rebounds.
Whitworth fell 67-57 to Willamette on Saturday in Salem. The Bucs struggled to get shots to fall in the first two quarters and trailed 28-21 at halftime. Alex Goetz opened the third quarter with a 10-point flurry and Mya Bair followed with a free throw that put the Pirates up 34-33 with just over five minutes to play in the third. The Bearcats responded and outscored the Pirates 18-7 the rest of the quarter. Whitworth punched back and cut the lead to five midway through the final frame, but Willamette quickly stretched the lead back out with three consecutive jumpers that the Pirates could not match. The Bucs shot 42.3% (22-52) from the field and made just three of 17 three-point attempts (17.6%). Ashlyn Peterson led the Pirates with 14 points while Keely Maves had 13. Bair had six rebounds and a team-high six assists.
The Opponents: Pacific (8-13 overall, 4-8 NWC) comes to Spokane amidst a three-game losing streak. The Boxers fell to George Fox 77-64 last Tuesday before a 68-61 loss to Puget Sound on Saturday. Pacific is a scrappy team that ranks first in the NWC in offensive rebounds (13.9) and second in steals per game (9.4). They are just one of two teams (Whitman) that have a positive turnover margin on the season (3.1). Guards Emily Holson and Shaade Williams both average a team-leading 11.2 points per game. Holson also leads the team in rebounds (5.6) and paces the NWC with 2.8 steals per game. Whitworth will look to end a nine-game losing streak against the Boxers that includes this season's 66-59 loss in Forest Grove on January 18th.
George Fox visits Whitworth Fieldhouse with a 16-5 overall record and 8-4 mark in the NWC. The Bruins have won three games in a row, including a 77-64 win over Pacific last Tuesday and 62-57 victory over Pacific Lutheran on Friday. GFU will visit Whitman on Friday before heading to Spokane on Saturday. The Bruins are a strong defensive team that ranks third in the conference in points allowed (55.7) and first in blocked shots (4.41). The rebound battle could be a key component in this game as Whitworth averages 38.3 rebounds per game in conference play (2nd in the NWC). However, GFU grabbed a season-high 49 boards in their first matchup on January 17th, a game the Bruins won 72-50. Senior guard Alyssa Wells leads the GFU offensive attack with 12.2 points per game. Senior forward Alexa Borter paces the Bruins in rebounds with 7.6 per game to along with 1.3 blocks. Sophomore point guard Hanne Hopkins was named this week's women's basketball NWC Student-Athlete of the Week for her performances against Pacific and PLU.
NWC Standings: Whitman (12-0) remains undefeated in conference play and sits atop the standings. George Fox (8-4) jumped back into a tie with Linfield (8-4) for second place while Puget Sound (7-5) took hold of fourth. Whitworth and Willamette each sit at 5-7 and look to fight their way into the conference tournament. Pacific (4-8) and Pacific Lutheran (4-8) are tied for seventh while Lewis & Clark rounds out the standings at 1-11.
From Downtown: The Pirates have not been shy putting up shots from beyond the arc this season. The Bucs average 25.1 three-point attempts per game, ranking first in the NWC. They are making these shots at a 27.9% clip and their seven three-point field goals made per game rank second in the NWC. Ashlyn Peterson and Alex Goetz lead the Pirates with 34 made shots from beyond the arc.
The Charity Stripe: In NWC games this season, the Pirates have gotten to the free throw line at an impressive rate. During this stretch, Whitworth has shot 229 free throws, two more than the next team and made 181 of them, 11 more than the team below them. Their 76.2 season team free-throw percentage ranks first in the conference and 14th in Division III. 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 8.4 points, a team-leading 8.2 rebounds (third in the NWC), three assists (tied for seventh in the NWC), one block (tied for fifth in the NWC) and 1.7 steals (ninth in the NWC) per game. Bair tied career-highs with 17 points and 14 rebounds against Linfield on January 24th.
The Maestro: Ashlyn Peterson has shown her ability to orchestrate the offense in an impactful freshman season. Peterson's 74 total assists and 3.5 assists per game rank fourth in the NWC. Along with her ability to distribute, she is fourth in the NWC in scoring and leads the Pirates with 14.5 points per game. Her 1.8 steals per game rank eighth in the conference and she is third in free throw percentage (.815). She has been the top scorer for the Pirates in 11 of 21 games this season and rarely comes off the court, leading the conference in minutes per game (35.8).
Tune in: Whitworth's home women's basketball games are streamed live at whitworthpirates.com from the "watch link" for home games and the "listen link" for road games on the women's basketball schedule page. Pirate basketball games are called by Bud Nameck who is in his tenth 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 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 27-44 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 close the regular season with a matchup at Whitman on February 18th before heading to Linfield on February 22nd.
