Feb. 19, 2008

Lutes Finish Season With Doubleheader at Home

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran (12-11 overall, 5-9 NWC) plays host to Linfield at 6 p.m. Friday and to Pacific at 6 p.m. Saturday in Olson Auditorium.

ABOUT LINFIELD: Linfield (11-12 overall, 4-10 NWC) comes to the Parkland Plains riding a two-game win streak after sweeping Willamette and Pacific last weekend. As a team, Linfield ranks second in the NWC in thee-point field goal defense, which will be a factor in Friday’s game as the Wildcats look to shut down PLU’s three-ball ace Kyle Haag. Brihtani Lassiter (12.3) and Casey Stepan (10.3) both rank in the top 15 in conference in scoring average.

Trish Buckingham

Kyle Haag

Emily Voorhies

BACK IN ’96: A lot of things happened in 1996. The movie Braveheart won best picture at the Oscars, Michael Jordan and the Bulls beat the Gary Payton-led Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA finals, and it was also the last time that Linfield beat PLU in women’s basketball. On the line this weekend is a 25-game PLU win streak dating back 12 years. The streak is the longest current winning streak for the Lutes. PLU leads the all-time series between the two schools, 37-16, which dates back to 1981. Last season the Lutes swept Linfield, 61-39 at home, and 57-30 on the road. Earlier this season PLU beat Linfield, 69-60, at McMinnville, Ore. Kyle Haag scored 22 points for PLU, shooting 6-for-11 from beyond the three-point arc.

ABOUT PACIFIC: The Boxers have struggled to a 3-19 overall record, 2-12 in the NWC, under former Tacoma Community College and first-year Pacific head coach Sharon Rissmiller. The Boxers have had their share of close games with five of their losses coming by five of fewer points. Individually, Amy Pedersen ranks third in the NWC in scoring ,averaging 14.8 points a game. Pedersen also ranks second in the conference in rebounds with 8.5 per game. The Boxers are still looking for their first road win of the season. Pacific is currently 0-9 in away games.

ALL-TIME SERIES: PLU leads the all-time series against the Boxers, 34-21. The Lutes are on a seven-game win streak dating back to the 2004 season. Earlier this year, Pacific Lutheran beat Pacific, 67-53, in Forest Grove. Kyle Haag finished the game as the Lutes' leading scorer with 17 points, including a 5-for-9 three-point effort, to go along with seven rebounds and two assists. Amy Spieker finished with 14 points and point guard Trinity Gibbons dominated the boards with 14 rebounds.

SENIOR MOMENTS: Three seniors will be playing their final games in the gold-and-black this weekend. Post Trish Buckingham is a four-year player who earned honorable mention all-conference honors last season. Emily Voorhies is another post player who has had a strong season, her third year of playing basketball at PLU. Voorhies is averaging 9.9 points per game and leads the Lutes with an aveage of 7.0 rebounds per contest. Voorhies, who has battled numerous injuries throughout her college career, has one more season of eligibility remaining after this one and might return next year if she attends graduate school at PLU. Kyle Haag transferred to PLU from Colorado State University-Pueblo and has had a breakout season, leading the Lutes with an average of 14.4 points per game.

UNDER THE BELT: Head coach Kelly Warnke is nearing the end of her first season at the helm of the women’s basketball program at PLU. With a 12-11 record, Warnke has had one of the more successful records as a first-year head coach. Some of the Lute faithful did not know what to expect out this season, but the possibility of continuing PLU’s 11-year streak of winning seasons is definitely a good sign that things are going in the right direction.

RECORD BOOK: Pacific Lutheran senior Kyle Haag is rewriting the record books. Haag shattered the old school record for three-point field goals in a season of 67 set by Kelly Turner in 2006. Haag currently has 77 three-pointers this season. Two weeks ago, Haag set the school record in three-point field goals attempted in a season. Currently, Haag has attempted 190 three-point field goals.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: Good things come in threes for senior Kyle Haag - three points to be exact. The senior from Tumwater is assaulting the record books this season with her shooting from behind the three-point line. Along with making a splash in the PLU record books, Haag is making waves on the national scene as well. Haag currently leads the NCAA Division III in three-point field goals per game with an average of 3.3 per contest. Haag also ranks 26th in three-point field goal percentage, making 40.5 percent of her attempts. Senior Trinity Gibbons accompanies Haag in the national statistics, ranking 83rd in assists per game, averaging 4.2.

PLU WINS AT WHITMAN: Snapping a five-game losing streak, the Pacific Lutheran women’s basketball team beat Whitman, 64-52, in a Northwest Conference game last Saturday night. Kyle Haag had 18 points and five three pointers for the Lutes. Pacific Lutheran raced to a 16-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game and led 35-23 at intermission. Whitman twice closed to within seven points midway through the second half, but the Lutes stemmed the tide in each case. Pacific Lutheran also got 13 points from Amy Spieker and 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists from Trinity Gibbons. Emily Voorhies chipped in with eight points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots as the Lutes outrebounded Whitman 41-31. Whitman forced Pacific Lutheran into 21 turnovers but shot just 28 percent from the floor for the game. Pacific Lutheran finishes its season next week home, starting with a Friday night game against Linfield. Saturday the Lutes play host to Pacific.

WHITWORTH TOPS PLU: The Pacific Lutheran women’s basketball team battled from a 15-point deficit only to have Whitworth pull away for a 71-62 win in a Northwest Conference game last Friday night. Whitworth shot 41.8 percent on the night (23-for-55), just ahead of PLU who made 38.7 percent (24-for-62) of its shots. Both teams grabbed 38 rebounds. Trinity Gibbons recorded a double-double for the Lutes with 14 points and ten boards. Kyle Haag drained a three pointer four minutes into the first half to put PLU up 11-6 early. Whitworth battled back and the two teams remained close for the next six minutes. A jumped by Trish Buckingham put PLU up by two with just under ten minutes to go in the half, but a three pointer by Teresa Zeitler sparked a 19-to-2 run to close out the half. The Pirates took a commanding 37-22 lead at the halfway mark. Whitworth had a sizeable lead for much of the second half. A three pointer by Haag pulled the Lutes within seven, 59-52. It appeared that PLU might stage an epic comeback but three turnovers in the final two minutes stalled the rally. Whitworth made key free throws to seal the win for the Pirates Nikki Scott had 14 points for the Lutes while Haag added 13 on 3-of-8 shooting from behind the arc. Emily Voorhies had 10 points and nine rebounds for PLU.

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