By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth women's basketball begins the second half of the Northwest Conference schedule this weekend with a road trip to Oregon. The Pirates play Pacific (Ore.) on Friday at 5:30pm before visiting Willamette on Saturday at 3:00pm.
Check the Whitworth women's basketball schedule for live links to this week's games.
The Pirates: Whitworth (3-14 overall, 2-6 NWC) has won two of its last three games after another weekend split.
The Pirates dropped Friday's matchup against Puget Sound 68-52. The Bucs started strong with a 15-9 advantage after the first quarter but got outscored 44-23 over the second and third. Whitworth shot well from three-point range (9-19, 47%) and finished the game 17 of 55 (31%) from the floor. Ashlyn Peterson was the only Pirate in double figures with 15 points. Ava DePew added seven rebounds and four assists.
On Saturday, the Bucs bounced back with a 73-65 win over Pacific Lutheran. Whitworth jumped out to an early lead and never trailed. Ayanna Tobeck's three-pointer gave the Pirates their largest lead at 31-16 and they held off a strong third quarter push from Lutes. Peterson, who played all 40 minutes, led the offense with 23 points and seven rebounds. Addyson Gallatin had 19 and Tobeck scored 10 points off the bench.
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 (16.9 ppg), is second in both three-point field goals made per game (2.1), and third in total three-pointers (36). For the second consecutive season, she also leads the conference in minutes per game (35.1).
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 (8.2), third in assists (3.3) and leads the team in steals per game (1.3).
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: Pacific heads into the week 8-9 overall and 3-5 in conference play. The Boxers play at Linfield on Tuesday before the Whits travel to Forest Grove over the weekend. Pacific averages 62.4 points per game and allows an average of 61.4. They are strong on the defensive end with the second-best opponent field goal percentage in the conference (35.9). Senior guard Shaade Williams leads the team with 12.2 points per game and adds 5.7 rebounds. Sydney Esperanza posts 10.3 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game. The Boxers have won 11 straight games against the Pirates, including a 73-59 win in Spokane on January 3rd.
Willamette (7-10, 4-4 NWC) hosts George Fox on Tuesday before matchups with Whitman and Whitworth on Friday and Saturday. The Bearcats score 61.2 points per game with the help of a league-high 33.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Defensively, opponents put up 63.9 points against them. First-year guard Riley Walden leads the offense with 14.5 points per game, the second highest mark in the conference, and 6.4 rebounds per game. Senior guard Kaitlin Imai adds 11.2 points and a team-high 3.2 assists per game. WU is 2-1 against the Pirates over the last two seasons, including a 60-59 win in Spokane on January 2nd.
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.
NWC Standings: Linfield (8-0) holds the top spot in the conference with Puget Sound (6-2) and Whitman (6-2) trailing. George Fox (5-3) holds fourth, one game ahead of Willamette (4-4). Pacific (3-5) is in sixth, while Lewis & Clark (2-6), Whitworth (2-6) and Pacific Lutheran (0-8) look to make a push.
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 30-62 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 have a quick turnaround with Whitman coming to town on Tuesday, February 3rd followed by a matchup with Linfield on Friday, February 6th.
