SPOKANE, Wash. - The Whitworth Pirates have gotten off to a tremendous start in the 2006-07 women's basketball season. The Pirates have opened with three straight wins and hope to make the start even better when Northwest Conference foes Pacific and Lewis & Clark visit the Fieldhouse to begin NWC play.

Orrell leads the Pirates in scoring

The Pirates: Balance has been key for the Pirates in the early going this season. Four different players are averaging double figures in scoring. Freshman Natalie Orrell (Wenatchee, Wash. - Wenatchee) is leading the team in scoring average at 17.0 points per game. She has made 8/12 three point attempts. Redshirt sophomore forward Alida Bower (Onalaska, Wash. - St. Martin's Univ.) has returned strongly from last season's knee injury and is adding 12.7 points and 8.7 rebounds. Sophomore post Susan McDaniel (Newport, Wash. - Newport) is averaging nearly a double double in points (10.3) and rebounds (9.7). Sophomore forward Tiffany Corigliano (Nine Mile Falls, Wash. - Lakeside) has been a big spark off of the bench, averaging 10.7 points per game.

Overall the Pirates are outscoring opponents 69.0 - 43.7 and outrebounding them 48.3 - 36.7. Whitworth has forced 24 turnovers per game.

SATURDAY 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 Lewis & Clark 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.

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 13th-year head coach Helen Higgs, Whitworth is 140-65 (.683) 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, 22-3 in 2005 (the best record in school history) and 13-11 last season.

The Boxers: Pacific enters the weekend with a 3-2 overall record. The Boxers finished second to highly ranked Menlo at the Oaks' tournament in Atherton, California last weekend. Amy Pedersen is leading the team with averages of 13.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Last season Whitworth defeated Pacific 70-60 at home, but lost the season finale 69-66 on the road.

The Pioneers: Lewis & Clark comes into the weekend 2-1 (prior to a Friday night game at Whitman). The Pioneers are led by the Castle sisters. All-NWC forward Crystal Castle averages 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while Shawna Castle has contributed 12.0 points per contest. Whitworth split with L&C last season, winning 63-60 at home and falling 48-39 in Portland.

The Coach: Helen Higgs begins her 13th season at Whitworth College as the winningest women's basketball coach in school history. She has a record of 190-117 during her tenure as the Pirate head coach. Her current winning percentage of .619 is also the best all-time among Pirate head coaches. She has been named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year three times.