SPOKANE, Wash. - Whitworth heads into the second half of the Northwest Conference women's basketball schedule this week. After starting the NWC schedule with a pair of home losses, the Pirates have gone on to win five of six games and move into a second place tie with Whitman and Puget Sound. The Bucs currently stand 11-6 overall. This week Whitworth will take on the same two teams that sent the Pirates to an 0-2 start. On Friday Whitworth will play at 7th-ranked George Fox (6:00 p.m.). On Saturday the Bucs will take on Pacific (4:00 p.m.). Both games can be heard on KSBN 1230am and KSBN.net.
The Bucs moved into a tie for second place with last Friday's 65-61 win at Lewis & Clark. Alida Bower (Sr., F, Onalaska, Wash.) had a career night, scoring 34 points and draining seven three-pointers. Bower made 12 of 22 shots from the field and 7 of 12 from three point range. Her point total surpassed her previous career high of 30 points against Whitman last February and she tied a career high in total three-pointers from the same game. For her effort, Bower was named the NWC Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week. 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 both steals per game (10.35) and turnover margin (+3.82). Offensively Whitworth leads the conference in three-pointers per game (6.94) and in three-point percentage. But the Pirates are most effective when they work the ball inside first, then find the open shooter on the perimeter. Whitworth is second in the NWC in free throw percentage (.711) and first in total free throws made (239). 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. 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 (44.8%) and is second in three-pointers per game (1.76). She leads the Bucs in scoring average this season (12.4 ppg). Bower now also ranks highly in NWC stats - fourth in three-point percentage (37.2) and fourth in three-pointers per game (1.71). 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: George Fox is 17-0 and ranked 7th in the latest Division III women's basketball polls. The Bruins have a three-game lead in the conference after beating Willamette 70-55 last Friday and winning 61-55 at Pacific Lutheran on Saturday. GFU leads the conference in several statistical categories, including scoring offense (67.4), scoring defense (50.1), rebound margin (+5.6), steals (11.0) and turnover margin (+5.0). Freshman Keisha Gordon is the Bruins' leading scorer at 12.7 points per game. Senior post Kristen Shielee leads the NWC in blocks per game (4.0) and is third in rebounds per game (10.0). GFU steadily pulled away over the final ten minutes of the game for a 68-50 win at Whitworth on January 2nd. Tiffany Corigliano (Sr., P, Nine Mile Falls, Wash.), Liz Horiatis (Sr., P, Woodinville, Wash.) and Leah Pomante (Sr., G, Colbert, Wash.) all had eight points and six rebounds to lead the Bucs in each category. Pacific is 4-11 overall and 3-4 in the NWC heading into tonight's make up game against Pacific Lutheran. The original game was postponed because of flooding on Interstate 5 that prevented PLU from visiting Pacific. The Boxers lost 52-40 at Puget Sound last Friday, but rebounded to beat Linfield 74-59 at home on Saturday. Junior Rochelle Reeves leads Pacific in scoring at 12.3 points per game. Freshman forward Julianne Erbe adds 10.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest. The Boxers handed Whitworth a painful 66-64 overtime loss on January 3rd in the Fieldhouse, coming back from a 10-point second half deficit to force overtime. Pilkinton led the Pirates with 17 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 225-166 during her tenure as the Pirate head coach. Her current winning percentage of .575 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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