By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's basketball squad hits the road this week to battle Northwest Conference rival Whitman on Tuesday at 5:30pm before heading to Linfield on Saturday at 3:00pm.
Check the Whitworth women's basketball schedule for live links to this week's games.
The Pirates: Whitworth (1-10 overall, 0-2 NWC) opened NWC play with a pair of home losses to Willamette and Pacific over the weekend.
The Pirates fell 60-59 in a hard-fought battle against Willamette on Friday night. The Bearcats led by nine early in the final quarter before the Bucs cut the lead to three after a basket from Ashlyn Peterson. After a free throw, Addyson Gallatin hit a three-pointer from the other end to cut the deficit to one, but less than a second remained. Gallatin finished with a career-high 24 points to lead the offense. Peterson added 22 points and seven assists while Ava DePew grabbed 10 rebounds.
Pacific (Ore.) pulled away late and defeated the Bucs 73-59 on Saturday. The Boxers shot an efficient 54% from the field and took a lead in the third quarter that wouldn't be given up. Whitworth cut the margin to four in the fourth quarter before a 12-0 Pacific run put the game away. Peterson led the Pirates with 17 points and Brenna Gilchrist scored 11. DePew put up seven points, nine rebounds and four assists.
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 (17.8 ppg), three-point field goals made per game (2.4) and total three-pointers made (26). For the second consecutive season, she also leads the conference in minutes per game (35.3).
Stat Sheet Stuffer: Pirate guard Ava DePew is making a big impact as a first-year Pirate. She ranks second in the conference in rebounds per game (8.9) and ranks fifth in both assists per game (3.1) and assist/turnover ratio (1.0). DePew is also leading the Bucs in steals (1.2) per game and is second in minutes per game (31.5).
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 to 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: Whitman comes into the first iteration of this season's Battle of Whits with a 7-4 overall record and 2-0 mark in conference play. The Blues average 59.3 points per game and take care of the ball with a +2.36 turnover margin that ranks second in the NWC. At the defensive end, they hold opponents to 53.8 points per game, second least in the conference. After graduating three All-NWC players a season ago, juniors Morgan Holly and Briana Andrade took over as team leaders. Holly leads the Blues with 11.5 points, 3.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Andrade is close behind with 11.0 points per game and leads the team in rebounds per game (6.2). Whitman holds a nine-game winning streak over the Pirates dating back to 2021.
Linfield is 8-2 (1-0 NWC) heading into its first home NWC weekend of the season. The Wildcats will host Whitman on Friday night before a matchup with Whitworth on Saturday. The Wildcats post a conference best 68.4 points per game and .320 three-point percentage. Linfield's disruptive defense gives up 57.4 points per game, third lowest in the conference, and leads the league in steals per game (10.4). The Wildcats have a spread-out offensive attack with three double digit scorers. Senior guard Amelia Solt and sophomore center Tana Hoekema lead the way with 11.8 and 11.4 points per game, respectively. Eve Burke puts up 10.1 points per game and shoots 40% from three-point range. Junior Allie Mead leads the conference in assists (5.4) and steals (3.2) per game, while Miki Vermeulen leads the team in rebounding (8.1). Linfield won both of its matchups with the Pirates last season after losing the previous four.
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 28-58 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 return to Oregon to visit Goerge Fox and Lewis & Clark on January 16th and 17th.
