By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's basketball squad returns to Whitworth Fieldhouse this weekend to host a pair of west side foes. The Pirates battle Puget Sound on Friday at 5:30pm before Pacific Lutheran visits on Saturday's Alumni Night at 3:00pm.
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 (www.whitworthpirates.com/tickets). Tickets are $14 for adults and $8 for senior adults, non-Whitworth students and children. Whitworth students, as well as faculty and staff, get free admission by using an ID number.
Alumni Night: Local Whitworth Alumni are invited to come to Saturday's Northwest Conference basketball doubleheader against PLU for free. Alumni should have received an email with a link to secure free tickets to the games, which start at 3:00 (women) and 5:00 (men). If you did not receive the email, please contact Luke Orwig in the Alumni Office (509-777-4283).
The Pirates: Whitworth (2-13 overall, 1-5 NWC) split a pair of games this weekend, earning its first conference win of the season on Saturday.
The Pirates fell 58-44 to George Fox on Friday. A strong first quarter resulted in an early 15-13 lead, but the Bruins outscored Whitworth 38-18 over the next two quarters to take control. The Bucs shot 35% (17-48) from the floor and made two of 12 three-point attempts (17%). Addyson Gallatin led the offense with 12 points and Ashlyn Peterson added 10. Ava DePew posted seven rebounds and seven assists.
On Saturday, Whitworth ended its nine-game losing streak with a 67-62 win over Lewis & Clark. A dominant first quarter resulted in a 21-9 lead before taking a 31-24 lead into halftime. The Pirates led by nine heading into the final quarter, but the River Otters cut their deficit to just three late in the game. Ashlyn Neilsen's layup and a pair of Gallatin free throws were enough to put the game out of reach. The Bucs shot a season-high 61.1% from beyond the arc, making 11 of 18 attempts. Peterson led all scorers with 23 points and dished five assists. Gallatin had 14 and CC Size scored 11.
Leading the Way: Sophomore point guard Ashlyn Peterson is following up her 2024-25 NWC Rookie of the Year campaign with another standout season. Peterson currently leads the conference in scoring (16.6 ppg) and is second in both three-point field goals made per game (2.1) and total three-pointers (31). For the second consecutive season, she also leads the conference in minutes per game (34.8).
Stat Sheet Stuffer: Pirate guard Ava DePew is making a big impact as a first-year Pirate. She is second in the conference in rebounds per game (8.6), fifth in assists (3.2) and tied for the team lead in steals per game (1.2).
Watch on FloCollege: All of Whitworth's home and 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 $108 for an annual subscription or $20 per month. Those who register with a .edu email address get a significant discount.
Inland Northwest Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Bud Nameck, familiar in Spokane as the KXLY channel 4 sports director for over 20 years and the longtime host of the KXLY 920am Morning News, is in his 11th season as the voice of the Pirates in 2025. He was the voice of Washington State University men's basketball for 22 years and spent that same amount of time on the Cougar football broadcasts – the final three on play by play. He is a longtime resident of the Inland Northwest who began his career as the Sports Information Director and radio voice of Gonzaga University basketball and baseball in the 1980s.
Listen to Road Games: Fans can tune in online and listen to Pirate road games for free at WhitworthPirates.com. Bud Nameck will provide play by play when Whitworth is away from the Fieldhouse.
The Opponents: Puget Sound heads into the weekend second in the NWC standings at 5-1 (12-3 overall). The Loggers suffered their first conference loss to Linfield before narrowly taking down Pacific (Ore.) last weekend. UPS has the best scoring defense in the conference thus far (50.2) while also leading the NWC in total rebounds (43.7) and offensive rebounds (15.7) per game. Guard Carmen Cruz leads the team in scoring (12.1) while Mele Sake adds 10.1 points per game. Forward Autumn Hill leads the conference with 2.2 blocks per game. UPS holds an eight-game winning streak over the Pirates dating back to 2022.
Pacific Lutheran (1-14, 0-6 NWC) comes into this week still seeking its first conference win of the season. Whitman will host PLU on Friday before Saturday's matchup at Whitworth. The Lutes score 56.1 points per game but give up the most points in the conference (74.9), resulting in a conference-worst -18.7 scoring margin. Senior guard Sydney Reisner leads team with 13.2 points and 1.5 steals per game. Sophomore Lily Williams puts up 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Whitworth has won the last seven meetings with PLU, including a 56-53 win in Spokane and a 62-60 win in Tacoma last season.
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 a strong young core, the Bucs have 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 29-61 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 opens the second half of conference play with a trip to Oregon to visit Pacific and Willamette on January 30th and 31st.
