Jan. 11, 2007

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Lutes Head East with First Place on the Line

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran will face Whitman College at 6 p.m. Friday in Walla Walla and Whitworth College at 6 p.m. Saturday in Spokane.

CRITICAL WEEKEND AHEAD: At this point in the season there is a five-way tie atop the Northwest Conference. PLU, Puget Sound, Whitworth, George Fox, and Whitman are all tied up at 3-1 in conference play. With this weekend’s games featuring four of the five first-place teams playing each other - Puget Sound plays Whitworth and Whitman on opposite nights from the Lutes - there will not be a lack of excitement. If the Lutes hope to repeat as conference champion, this weekend's games will be crucial in getting them there.

ABOUT WHITMAN: Whitman comes into Friday’s game with an 8-5 overall record. The Missionaries have been battle tested several times this season, playing in three overtime games, winning two of them. Whitman is led by junior forward Kelsey Krumdieck, who averages 13.7 points and 5.8 rebounds a game and ranks third in the conference in scoring.

PIRATES UNDEFEATED AT HOME: Whitworth is 6-0 this season playing at the Whitworth Fieldhouse but faces two tough opponents this weekend in Puget Sound and PLU. Three Pirate players average double figures in scoring including Susan McDaniel, who averages 10.5 points to go along with 8.5 rebounds a game. Whitworth has averaged 62.8 points a game this season while PLU has averaged 59.8, but the Lutes are tied for first in the conference in scoring defense, holding their opponents to just 52.5 points a game. A deeper look at the stats finds a couple of key numbers integral to the Pirates success. First, Whitworth has taken five more shots per game than opponents, mostly because the Bucs have outrebounded opponents by five per game. Second, Whitworth has made nearly twice as many three-point shots as opponents (76-49) with a 31.5 shooting percentage to their opponents' 26.3 percentage. Freshman forward Natalie Orrell averages 11.9 points per game so far this season and has made 22-of-37 (.595) three-point attempts.

LAST WEEK: The Lutes resumed Northwest Conference play last week hosting the UPS Loggers on Jan. 3 and traveling to Lewis & Clark on Jan. 5. The Lutes split, losing to UPS 56-53 in Olson Auditorium and beating the Pioneers 58-56 in Portland. The Loggers defense was key to their victory as they held PLU to 39 percent shooting from the field. UPS kept Nikki Johnson out of her normal form, holding her to 4-of-14 shooting from the field. The Lutes started off strong and pulled to a 11-4 lead with 14 minutes to go in the first half, but the Loggers took the lead, 15-13, with a pair of layups by Brie Adderley, and the Loggers would not relinquish their lead for the rest of the game. The rest of the game was close, with the Lutes coming to within one at 52-51. With the score 56-53 in favor of UPS and 3.2 seconds left on the clock, the Lutes had one last chance, but Megan Clarno's last-ditch shot from half court fell short. Johnson and Danika Lawson both scored 10 points to pace the Lutes. Trinity Gibbons led the Lutes in assists with five. The battle against the Pioneers proved to be another tight between the two squads. The Pioneers held a 6-2 advantage until PLU’s Kyle Haag hit a three-pointer to start a ten-minute, 20-2 run for the Lutes. A Kezia Long jumper with thirty seconds left in the first half extended the Lute lead to 15, 28-13, the advantage they held at the intermission. After shooting just 17 percent in the first half, a different Pioneer team took the court in the second period, shooting over 53 percent in the final 20 minutes. The Pioneers used their hot shooting and increased full-court pressure to take over the game, chipping it away to just one point, 39-38 on an Allison Farr jumper. The Lutes pushed the lead to five with 46 seconds remaining on a Johnson jumper. The Pioneers countered with a Sarah Moon three, coming within a point, 57-56 with nine seconds left on the clock. The Pioneers nearly got a steal of the inbounds, but ended up having to foul and ultimately lost 58-56.

JOHNSON TOPS CONFERENCE: Defending Northwest Conference Player of the Year Nikki Johnson leads the NWC in scoring at 16.2 points a game and steals with 2.33 a contest. She also is second in rebounds, grabbing 8.4 boards a game and sits fourth in shooting percentage at 47.1.

NEXT HOME GAMES: The PLU women return to Olson Auditorium on Friday, Jan. 19 when they host the George Fox Bruins at 6 p.m. The Lutes and Pacific Boxers face-off the following night in Olson with tip-off at 6 p.m.

-PLU-