SPOKANE, Wash. - There are four Northwest Conference basketball playoff spots this season. If Whitworth hopes to make the tournament, the next three games will play a big part in that accomplishment. With 12th-ranked George Fox streaking to a 13-0 start, the Pirates will play three teams in five days that all have designs on claiming one of the other positions in the playoffs. Whitworth will take on Puget Sound on Friday, Pacific Lutheran on Saturday and Whitman on Tuesday - all at home. The Bucs hope to continue the momentum gained with a pair of conference road wins last weekend. Whitworth won 78-69 at Willamette last Friday and 61-50 at Linfield on Saturday. Friday's win was the first NWC victory of the season for the Bucs and on Saturday the Pirates overcame an early 17-4 deficit to defeat the Wildcats.
The Pirates: Whitworth got back to the intensity that led to early-season success. The Bucs forced 25 turnovers by Willamette in Friday's win, then followed that up by forcing 30 turnovers at Linfield on Saturday. The 55 turnovers forced tied a season-high for back-to-back games. The Pirates lead the NWC in steals this season, averaging 11.8 per game. They also lead in turnover margin at +5.6. 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 in team three-point field goal percentage this season. The Pirates have been able to drain 7.6 shots from behind the arc per contest, which currently ranks 6th in the NCAA. And they are hitting at a high percentage as well, draining 33.4% of their attempts. 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 (45.5%) and is first in three-pointers per game (1.92). She leads the Bucs in scoring average this season (12.4 ppg). Three other Pirates - Natalie Orrell (Jr., G, Wenatchee, Wash.), Alida Bower (Sr., F, Onalaska, Wash.) and Leah Pomante (Jr., G, Colbert, Wash.) are averaging more than one three-pointer made per game. Leah the Leader: Leah Pomante is having a breakthrough season at point guard. She is third on the team in scoring average (9.9 ppg) and ranks sixth in the NWC in assists per game (3.1) and second in steals per game (3.1). 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: Pomante (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: All three of this week's opponents are legitimate NWC playoff contenders and all three are balanced and diverse in the attack. Puget Sound comes into the week with identical records as Whitworth (8-5 overall, 2-2 NWC). The Loggers dropped a pair of road games last week. After struggling to a 69-36 defeat at PLU on Tuesday, UPS gave George Fox its toughest test of the season on Saturday before falling 52-47. Karen Chase is having a strong year, averaging 13.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The Loggers are second in the NWC in scoring defense (53.0). Last season the Loggers swept Whitworth, winning 65-56 in Tacoma and 64-54 in Spokane, extending a winning streak over the Bucs to six in a row. Pacific Lutheran (9-3 overall, 3-0 NWC) is only a half game behind George Fox in the standings. The Lutes have not played since last Tuesday's win over UPS because last Friday's scheduled game at Pacific was postponed because of road conditions in Western Washington. Emily Voorhies is having a special season, averaging 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest. The Lutes lead the NWC in assists per game (16.5) and are second in field goal percentage defense (35.6). Whitworth and PLU split last year's games. The Lutes won 81-64 in Tacoma, while the Bucs won 71-62 in Spokane. Whitman comes into the weekend (the Missionaries also play PLU and UPS this weekend) 11-2 overall, 3-1 in the NWC and ranked 23rd in the latest D3hoops.com poll. Whitman won 70-55 at Linfield and 61-34 at Willamette last weekend. The Missionaries lead the NWC in scoring average (70.1 ppg) and field goal percentage (42.1). Hilary White leads a balanced lineup by averaging 13.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Last winter Whitworth swept both meetings, winning 73-65 in Walla Walla and 81-76 (in OT) in Spokane. 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 222-165 during her tenure as the Pirate head coach. Her current winning percentage of .574 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 > |
