Jan. 25, 2007

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Lutes Start Second Half of NWC Season

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran at Linfield, Friday, 6 p.m.; PLU at Willamette, Saturday, 6 p.m.

IT’S A “NEW” SEASON: That’s the way that the Pacific Lutheran women’s basketball team is looking at the second half of the Northwest Conference schedule, which gets underway for the Lutes this weekend with two games in Oregon. PLU takes on the Linfield Wildcats at 6 p.m. Friday in McMinnville and the Willamette Bearcats at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Salem. Through the first half of the 16-game NWC schedule, the Lutes have a 4-4 record and are in fifth place. Puget Sound leads the NWC with a 7-1 record, while George Fox is at 7-2 after losing to Linfield earlier this week. The last time that a team won the Northwest Conference regular season title with three losses was during the 2003-04 season when UPS and Whitman shared the crown with 13-3 records. Going all the way back to the mid 1980s, no team has finished atop the conference regular season standings with four or more losses. It seems unlikely given the way that the conference-leading Puget Sound Loggers are playing that the Lutes could overtake them for the regular season title. With eight games left on the conference schedule, the Lutes are only one game behind Whitworth and Whitman, which share third place. So there is still plenty of time for the Lutes to finish the regular season among the top three and earn a berth in the NWC postseason tournament.

Kezia Long

ABOUT LINFIELD: Pacific Lutheran had perhaps its best game of the 2006-07 season in beating Linfield, 61-39, in Olson Auditorium back on Dec. 1, 2006. PLU held Linfield to 28 percent shooting from the field while shooting 46.3 percent. In their first home game of the season the Lutes trailed 4-2 four minutes into the game but it was all PLU from there. The Lutes went on 19-4 run and ended the half with a 33-14 lead. Nikki Johnson (Tenino, Wash. / Centralia CC) paced the Lutes with 16 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Kezia Long (Federal Way, Wash. / Thomas Jefferson HS) and Danika Lawson (Puyallup, Wash. / Puyallup HS) both scored 10 points for PLU. Jamie Godfrey scored 14 for the Wildcats. Linfield, which finished the first half of the NWC schedule with a 3-5 record, started the second half of the slate with a 51-50 victory over now second place George Fox on Tuesday night. The win gave the Wildcats a sweep of the Bruins – their only two conference losses thus far – this season. No Linfield player averages double figures in scoring – Porcia Jackson is the leader with 9.2 points per game, followed by Sara Burgoyne at 8.6 per game. Kate Stadeli leads the team with 6.1 rebounds per contest. With an 8-8 overall record, Linfield averages 55.1 points per game while giving up an average of 54.8 per game.

ABOUT WILLAMETTE: By defeating Pacific 71-66 in overtime on Jan. 5, the Bearcats ended a 20-game Northwest Conference losing streak that had dated back to the 2004-05 season. They are now 2-6 in the conference and 4-13 for the season, including a 57-30 loss to PLU back on Dec. 2, 2006. As with Linfield, no Willamette players average in double figures. Kailyn Fujioka leads with 9.9 points per game followed by Laura Payne with 8.9 per contest. Fujioka also leads the team, and is the conference leader, with 8.6 rebounds per contest. Willamette averages 50.6 points and allows 62.2 per contest.

LUTE NOTES: Nikki Johnson continues to lead all Northwest Conference players in scoring average, with 15.6 points per game, and she is also first with 2.13 steals per game. Johnson is second in rebounding with 8.3 per contest. PLU’s Kezia Long is 15th in scoring (9.3) and fifth in rebounding (7.4). As a team, PLU is second behind George Fox in scoring defense, giving up 53.2 points per game. The Lutes also trail only George Fox in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a .367 percentage.

Gil Rigell

CLOSING IN ON 200: Head coach Gil Rigell is eight wins away from the 200-win mark in what is now his 10th season at Pacific Lutheran. Entering this weekend’s action, Rigell has a 192-65 record (.747 winning percentage).

NEXT WEEK: The Lutes play two Northwest Conference opponents next week. On Tuesday, the Lutes travel across town to take on the conference-leading Puget Sound Loggers, and on Friday they host the Lewis & Clark Pioneers.

LUTES ON THE AIR: Selected Pacific Lutheran women’s basketball games can be heard in the Tacoma area on KLAY 1180 AM, or on the worldwide web at http://www.klay1180.com. Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Robertson calls the action for both PLU women’s and men’s basketball games.

- PLU -