SPOKANE, Wash. - Winners of five games in a row, the Whitworth College women's basketball team puts its winning streak on the line this weekend during what will probably be the toughest road trip on the Northwest Conference schedule this year. The Pirates (8-4 overall, 2-2 NWC) travel west to take on University of Puget Sound (Friday) and Pacific Lutheran University (Saturday). The UPS game will start at 6:00 pm, while the PLU contest is slated for 4:00 pm.

Ridings leads the Pirates in scoring, assists and steals.

The Pirates: Whitworth 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. Two of the starters are even new to the squad this winter. Danielle Wegman (RS Jr., P, Seattle, Wash. - Blanchet HS) has played well in the post after taking two years away from basketball, one of which she studied in Latin America. Amy Ridings (Jr., G, Spokane, Wash. - CC of Spokane) is also returning to the game after two years away from school. She has moved into the starting lineup after the injury to Alida Bower.

Holly Ridings (So., G, Spokane, Wash. - Shadle Park HS) continues to lead the Pirates in scoring at 14.4 points per game. She also leads the team in assists (3.1) and steals (1.8) per game. She is second in the NWC in free throw percentage (.886).

Emily Hendrickson (So., F, Valleyford, Wash. - Freeman HS) adds 11.4 points per game and leads the Pirates in rebounding (6.4 per game). She has made 86.3% of her free throw attempts.

Don't Foul 'Em: Whitworth leads the Northwest Conference by a wide margin and is ranked 2nd in NCAA Division III in free throw percentage. The Pirates have made 78.2% (190/243) from the line this season. The Pirates rank among the top four individual in NWC free throw percentage. In addition to Ridings (who ranks 2nd) and Hendrickson (3rd), Danielle Wegman is fourth at 83.3% from the line.

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.

The Loggers: It will be a battle on the perimeter when Whitworth visits UPS (10-3 overall, 2-2 NWC) on Friday. The Loggers lead the NWC in three point percentage, making 42% from beyond the arc this season. However, Whitworth leads the league in three point percentage defense at 22.8%. Senior guard Kilty Keaton is an NWC MVP candidate. She averages 16.9 points per game and has made 46% of her three point attempts and 3.23 three pointers per game. UPS lost on January 3rd at home to PLU (73-65) but rebounded to hand fifth-ranked George Fox is only loss of the season last Friday. The Loggers won 85-61. Whitworth won both meetings with UPS last season, by a 66-56 score in Tacoma and a 74-64 margin in Spokane.

The Lutes: Pacific Lutheran has jumped to the top of the NWC standings this year thanks to a traditionally strong PLU defense. The Lutes (11-1 overall, 4-0 NWC) are holding opponents to an NWC-best 53.2 points per game. PLU also leads the league in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to make only 32.7% of their shots. Kelly Turner leads PLU in scoring average at 13.8 points per game. She leads the NWC in free throw percentage, making 90% of her attempts from the line. After beating UPS on the road last week, the Lutes defeated Linfield 63-55 at home on Saturday, handing the Wildcats their first NWC loss. PLU swept Whitworth last year, winning 54-50 in Tacoma and 72-62 in Spokane.

NEW START TIMES: The Northwest Conference has allowed for earlier start times for games involving Whitworth and Whitman that occur on Saturdays. This allows for an earlier return home. Therefore, the PLU double header on Saturday will begin with a women's game at 4:00 p.m. followed by the men's game at 6:00 p.m.

Back on the Air: For the fourth year in a row, all the rest of Whitworth's ROAD games will be head 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. This weekend's broadcasts are slated to begin 15 minutes prior to the women's tip off.