SPOKANE, Wash. - Still in the hunt for a Northwest Conference tournament berth, Whitworth College will host George Fox University and Linfield College in a key weekend of action as the NWC begins the second half of its schedule. The Pirates are 10-6 overall and 4-4 in the NWC following a pair of victories last week. Whitworth is tied with Linfield for fifth place in the conference standings. The top three teams will make the NWC Tournament.

Hendrickson led the Bucs to two wins last week

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. Whitworth defeated Whitman College and Pacific University last week to stay in contention. Emily Hendrickson (So., F, Valleyford, Wash. - Freeman) had a big role in both victories. Hendrickson scored the game-winning basket in a 63-61 win over Whitman with 2.7 seconds to play. She followed up that performance with a career high 23 points in the 70-60 win over Pacific on Saturday. She is second in the team in scoring average (12.1 points per game) and leads the squad in rebounding (6.1 per contest) this year.

Holly Ridings (So., G, Spokane, Wash. - Shadle Park HS) continues to lead the Pirates in scoring at 13.1 points per game. She also leads the team in assists (2.6) and steals (1.4) per game.

Don't Foul 'Em: Whitworth leads 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% (245/314) from the line this season. The Pirates have three of the top four individuals in NWC free throw percentage. Hendrickson is second at 85.3%, followed by Danielle Wegman (Sr., F, Seattle, Wash. - Blanchet) at 84.7% and Holly Ridings at 82.5%.

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 Bruins: Defending NWC champion George Fox is 15-2 overall and ranked 10th in the latest USA Today/ESPN Division III Coaches Poll. But the Bruins, who were heavy favorites to repeat as champions this season, are 6-2 in the conference and tied with UPS for second place, one game behind PLU (7-1). Fox lost at home to PLU, 85-84 in overtime on Friday, before bouncing back to win 76-48 at Willamette on Saturday. Kim Leith, the 2005 NWC Player of the Year, is averaging 14.7 points per game and making 37% of her three point attempts. Robin Taylor adds 13.6 points and 3 assists per game. On December 2nd, Whitworth led by two points at halftime at George Fox, but the Bruins scored the first 18 points of the second half to win 58-42 in Newberg, Oregon.

The Wildcats: Despite a roster equally as young as Whitworth's, Linfield started the season hot. But the Wildcats have dropped four of their last five to fall to 10-7 overall and 4-4 in the NWC. Linfield fell at home to Lewis & Clark (70-64) and Puget Sound (76-60) last weekend. Senior center Bayley Coblentz averages 12.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game to lead Linfield in both categories. The Wildcats force 15 opponent turnovers per game to lead the conference by a wide margin. On December 3rd, Whitworth led 50-40 midway through the second half, but Linfield rallied to win 70-65 in McMinnville, dropping the Pirates to 0-2 to open NWC play.

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 both nights.