SPOKANE, Wash. - In the midst of a four game winning streak, Whitworth's women's basketball team hits the road this week tied for third place in the Northwest Conference standings and in the thick of the hunt for an NWC Tournament berth. The Pirates will play Friday night at Willamette (6:00 pm tip) and Saturday afternoon at Lewis & Clark (4:00 pm tip). Whitworth is coming off of important wins over George Fox (66-57) and Linfield (58-46) last week at home.

Hendrickson is the NWC Player of the Week

The Pirates: Whitworth (12-6 overall, 6-4 NWC) has put itself in a position to challenge for the Northwest Conference playoffs this season, despite the fact that the Pirates have five new starters from a year ago. Whitworth is currently tied for third place with George Fox and Lewis & Clark. After Tuesday night, Puget Sound is tied for first place with Pacific Lutheran at 9-2.

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How are they doing it? Whitworth is having a strong season despite the fact that the Pirates rank in the middle of almost every Northwest Conference statistical category. But the Bucs have simply been taking care of opportunities presented, and also is 10-0 at home this season. Whitworth has played extremely well in the Fieldhouse, outscoring opponents by 16 points per game, making 43% of their shots from the floor and 38% of their attempts from three point range. But this is a continuing trend. Since the 1999-2000 season, Whitworth is 61-16 at home.

NWC Player of the Week: Emily Hendrickson (So., F, Valleyford, Wash. - Freeman) became the first Pirate to earn Northwest Conference Player of the Week honors this season. Hendrickson led Whitworth in scoring in the victories that moved the Pirates into a tie for third place. She had 36 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 60% from the floor and 90% from the free throw line. She is second in the team in scoring average (12.8 points per game) and leads the squad in rebounding (6.0 per contest) this year.

The Leading Scorer: Holly Ridings (So., G, Spokane, Wash. - Shadle Park HS) continues to lead the Pirates in scoring at 12.9 points per game. She also leads the team in assists (2.4) and steals (1.7) per game.

Don't Foul 'Em: Whitworth does lead the Northwest Conference by a wide margin and is ranked 3rd in NCAA Division III in free throw percentage. The Pirates have made 78.0% (276-354) from the line this season. The Pirates have three of the top four individuals in NWC free throw percentage. Hendrickson is second at 85.7%, followed by Danielle Wegman (Sr., F, Seattle, Wash. - Blanchet) at 84.4% and Holly Ridings at 83.0%.

Bower Out: Unfortunately for the Pirates, one of their few players with collegiate experience, Alida Bower (So., F, Onalaska, Wash. - St. Martin's Univ.) is out for the season with a knee injury, suffered during the team's trip to Montana at the end of finals. She was averaging 11.0 points per game and had started all eight contests. The injury came early in the second half of the win at Great Falls.

Living Large in Division III: Since becoming members of the NCAA in 1999, Whitworth has put together its best stretch of records in school history. All under 12th-year head coach Helen Higgs, Whitworth is 136-60 (.694) since becoming members of Division III. Whitworth went 17-9 in 1999, 18-8 in 2000, 11-12 in 2001, 18-9 in 2002, 19-7 in 2003, 19-6 in 2004 and 22-3 last year (the best record in school history).

The Bearcats: Willamette is 5-13 overall and 0-10 in the NWC heading into Friday's game. The Bearcats' losing streak reached eight contests after falling 65-57 at home to Lewis & Clark on January 24th and 67-35 at PLU on January 28th. Sophomore Laura Payne is one of only two Willamette players to have started all 18 games this season and she leads the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game. On January 6th Whitworth defeated the Bearcats 80-54 in Spokane to extend the Pirates' current winning streak in the series to nine games.

The Pioneers: Easily the most improved team in the NWC this season, Lewis & Clark is 10-8 overall and 6-4 in the NWC. In addition to its win over Willamette, the Pioneers lost a hard fought 66-58 decision at UPS on January 27th. Sophomore Crystal Castle is having an all-conference type season, averaging 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Allison Farr adds 12.1 points and 5.2 boards per game. Each has been named NWC Player of the Week once this year. Whitworth edged L&C 63-60 in Spokane on January 7th to extend the Pirates' current winning streak in the series to nine games.

The Coach: Helen Higgs continues her 12th season at Whitworth College as the winningest women's basketball coach in school history. She has a record of 186-112 during her tenure as the Pirate head coach. Her current winning percentage of .624 is also the best all-time among Pirate head coaches. She has been named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year three times.

Back on the Air: For the fourth year in a row, all the rest of Whitworth's ROAD games will be heard live on KSBN 1230 am. Bob Castle will call all the plays. The games can also be heard over the internet at www.ksbn.net. The next broadcasts are slated for February 3rd and 4th at Willamette and Lewis & Clark and will begin at 5:45 pm on Friday and 3:45 pm on Saturday.