Women's BB: Whits Host La Sierra 7 pm Monday in Sherwood

WALLA WALLA, Wash. — The Whitman College women’s basketball team wraps up its non-league slate -- and tunes up for resumption of Northwest Conference play -- when it hosts the La Sierra University Eagles at 7 p.m. Monday in Sherwood Athletic Center.

Whitman, which has played a tough non-conference schedule, is 3-7 on the season. The Missionaries have been idle since losing to NAIA powerhouse Lewis-Clark State on Dec. 18.

La Sierra, an NAIA independent from Riverside, Calif., is 3-21 on the season and coming off a busy December in which it played 11 games.

La Sierra's last five games came during the last 11 days of the month and included losses to three of Whitman's Northwest Conference rivals -- Lewis & Clark (78-53), Linfield (52-48) and Pacific (65-54).

Key players for La Sierra include 6-foot-1 senior Ashley Baumgaetel, who had 13 points and seven rebounds in the loss to Pacific. The Eagles led that game 30-27 at halftime.

Sarah Anderegg                                       Photo by Greg Lehman

Baumgaetel also had 10 points and eight rebounds in the narrow loss to Linfield. Sophomore guards Joirdan Jones and Natalia Hawthorne paced the Eagle scoring in that game with 13 points apiece. Jones added eight rebounds while Hawthorne handed out four assists and made three steals.

A third La Sierra sophomore guard, Victoria Lowe, combined 11 rebounds with eight points against Linfield and had 10 points and six boards against Pacific.

Senior point guard Jenele Peterson continues to lead Whitman in scoring at 12.3 points per game. She also ranks third in the NWC in assists (3.4 apg) and is tied for fourth in steals (2.2 spg).

Juniors Kelly Peterson (7.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and Mary Madden (6.9 ppg. 5.0 rpg), along with sophomore Sarah Anderegg (7.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg), are three more cogs in a balanced Whitman attack.

Six-foot sophomore Meghan White is averaging 7.8 rebounds, which ranks her among the NWC leaders, while adding 5.7 points per game.

Heather Lovelace, a 6-foot-1 first-year Missionary, is averaging 6.5 points off the bench while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor. Sophomore guard Tiffani Traver has been a steady contributor, averaging 6.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

Senior Anna Forge, a 5-foot-10 senior wing, is No. 2 in the NWC in blocked shots with 14 rejections in her first 10 games. Senior shooting guard Jennifer Keyes is averaging 4.4 points while leading Whitman in 3-point baskets with 12.

Whitman, 0-2 in the NWC, returns to conference action this weekend in Tacoma, Wash., playing Friday at Puget Sound and Saturday at Pacific Lutheran. Both games start at 6 p.m.

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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
509 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu