SPOKANE, Wash. - Whitworth will need to refocus and bounce back quickly from a tough road weekend. The Pirates (11-8 overall, 5-5 Northwest Conference) will host Willamette (Friday) and Linfield (Saturday) this weekend looking to get back on track to qualifying for the NWC women's basketball tournament. Friday's game tips at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday's contest starts at 4:00 p.m. This week Whitworth will officially begin video-streaming its basketball games. The video stream will begin approximately two minutes before tip off. The link to access the stream is: mms://media.whitworth.edu/events.
The Bucs dropped into a three-way tie for fourth place in the NWC standings with a pair of losses last weekend. Whitworth fell to unbeaten George Fox 77-46 on Friday. Alida Bower (Sr., F, Onalaska, Wash.) led the Pirates with 11 points. On Saturday Whitworth played at Pacific in a game that ultimately would determine which team currently held sole possession of third place in the standings. The Boxers won 62-49. Cassie Pilkinton (Jr., G, Chelan, Wash.) struggled through severe bronchitis to score 15 points. The Pirates: Whitworth has been successful this season when the Pirates have been able to force their style of play on opponents. Defensively Whitworth ranks second in the NWC in steals per game (9.79). Offensively Whitworth leads the conference in three-pointers per game (6.84) and is second in team three-point percentage (32.4). But the Pirates are most effective when they work the ball inside first, then find the open shooter on the perimeter. NWC Coaches Poll: Whitworth finished second in the 2008 NWC coaches preseason poll. The Pirates finished just behind Whitman in the voting. Bombs Away: Whitworth leads the NWC in three-pointers made per game and is second in team three-point field goal percentage this season. A big reason has been the shooting of Cassie Pilkinton (Jr., F, Chelan, Wash.). Pilkinton, a transfer from North Idaho College, leads the conference in three-point percentage (44.4%) and is second in three-pointers per game (1.68). She leads the Bucs in scoring average this season (11.9 ppg). Before her injury, Bower had moved up to fourth in three-point percentage (35.6) and fourth in three-pointers per game (1.63). Sweet Home Washington: For the first time in head coach Helen Higgs' tenure, every player on the Whitworth roster hails from the state of Washington. Players from the local greater-Spokane area include: Leah Pomante (Jr., G, Colbert, Wash. / Mt. Spokane), Ren Mallory (Jr., G, Spokane / Lewis & Clark, CC of Spokane), Heather Burke (Jr., G, Cheney / Cheney), Tiffany Corigliano (Sr., P, Nine Mile Falls / Lakeside), and Kim Bluff (Jr., G, Cusick / Cusick). Live Stats: Live statistics of all games played in the Whitworth Fieldhouse will be available all season by opening the following link in your web browser:
The Opponents: Willamette is 3-13 overall and 2-8 in the NWC this season, but the Bearcats come into Friday's game riding their first two-game winning streak in the NWC in four seasons. Last Tuesday Willamette beat Linfield 63-50 and on Friday the Bearcats defeated Pacific Lutheran 69-56, both at home. Molly Fillion leads the conference in both scoring average (14.0 ppg) and rebounds (10.5 rpg). Alex Zennon adds 12.6 points per game and leads the NWC in three-pointers per game (1.94). Earlier this season Whitworth won 78-69 at Willamette when Cassie Pilkinton and Natalie Orrell (Jr., G, Wenatchee, Wash.) each scored 13 points to lead the Bucs. Linfield has lost its last five games in a row to drop to 3-16 overall and 2-8 in the NWC. The Wildcats followed their loss at Willamette last Tuesday with a 69-57 loss at home to Puget Sound on Saturday. All five starters average between 7.1 and 8.4 points per game. Whitworth overcame an early 17-4 deficit by forcing 30 turnovers in a 61-50 win at Linfield on January 3rd. Liz Horiatis (So., P, Woodinville, Wash.) led the Pirates with 12 points. The Coach: Helen Higgs continues her 15th season at Whitworth as the winningest women's basketball coach in school history. She has a record of 225-168 during her tenure as the Pirate head coach. Her current winning percentage of .572 is also the best all-time among Pirate head coaches. She has been named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year three times. 2008-09 Women's Basketball Schedule Go to Athletics Home Page > Women's Basketball > Sports Releases > |
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