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BB Stretch Run: Whits Home Friday, Saturday

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- With just two weeks left in the season, the Whitman College basketball teams are at home this weekend with a chance to make a move up the Northwest Conference standings.

Whitman hosts Pacific Lutheran on Friday and Puget Sound on Saturday. In break from the normal routine, the men play first both nights, starting at 6 p.m. The women's games follow at about 8 p.m.

The Whitman women and their Pacific Lutheran counterparts are tied for fifth at the moment with 5-7 NWC records (the Missionaries are 10-11 on the season; the Lutes are 7-14). Whitworth is still within reach in fourth place with a 7-5 conference record.

The top four teams at season's end advance to the postseason tournament, which starts with semifinal games on Thursday, Feb. 27, and concludes with the championship game that Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Whitman men are 4-8 in the NWC, tied with Puget Sound for sixth place. Lewis & Clark (7-6) and Pacific Lutheran (6-6) sit in the fourth and fifth spots. The Missionaries need two victories this weekend, and a Pacific Lutheran loss Saturday night at Whitworth, to move into a tie for fifth.

Fans not able to see the games in person this weekend can follow the action online.

For a live video stream of the games, fans can click here.

Or, they can click here for live stats as relayed from courtside.

Women's Games

                        Rebecca Sexton

Earlier this season in Tacoma, the Whitman women let a four-point lead slip away over the final five minutes to drop a 58-52 decision to Pacific Lutheran.

The next night at Puget Sound, the Missionaries led by a point until the Loggers nailed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds for a 68-66 win.

Those two losses came in the midst of a string of four straight narrow setbacks. Since then, Whitman has won four of fives games, falling only to first-place George Fox by four points in the closing minutes of that contest.

Since slipping past Whitman last month, Pacific Lutheran has stayed afloat by winning three and losing four. Puget Sound, which plays Friday at Whitworth, has continued to cruise and sits in second place with a 10-2 conference record.

Senior Hilary White and first-year teammate Kelly Peterson combined for 31 points in the earlier loss to Pacific Lutheran. Senior Michelle Krall grabbed nine rebounds. 

In the loss at Puget Sound, junior Rebecca Sexton led the way with 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Peterson added 16 points and five boards against the Loggers. White combined nine points with five assists and four rebounds, and senior Dawna Mello added nine points and four assists.

Sexton continues to lead the NWC in field goal shooting, having made 87 of 161 shots (54 percent) from the floor. Peterson is shooting 49.2 percent from her guard spot, which ranks her fourth in the conference. In NWC games only, Peterson is No. 1 (54.3 percent) and Sexton No. 3 (52.4 percent).

On the season, White tops the team in both scoring (12.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.7 rpg). She is tied for second in the NWC in total 3-point baskets with 42.

Sexton averages 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-3 junior center is No. 4 in the NWC in blocked shots with 28.

Other stat leaders for Whitman include Peterson (9.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and Krall (7.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg).

Key personnel for Pacific Lutheran include three 6-footers: Jordan Westering (10.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg), Tracy Goehri (8.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and Meghan Dowling (5.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg).  

Melissa Pixler, a 5-foot-10 guard, averages 9.1 points and is shooting 42.5 percent (34-80) from the 3-point line. Pixler tops the NWC in 3-point percentage with Westering in second (41-103, 39.8 percent). Sara Backstrom, also a guard, averages 10.7 points and is No. 3 in the conference in assists (3.63 apg).

The above five Lutes combined to score all but two of Pacific Lutheran's points in the earlier victory over Whitman. Backstrom hit three 3-pointers and led the Lutes in scoring with 15 points.

Claire Ely, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, is scoring 20.7 points per game for Puget Sound, which leads the NWC in scoring. She shoots 42.9 percent from the floor and ranks No. 2 in the conference in assists, averaging 4.29 per game.

Jocelyn Riordan, also a 5-9 guard, has drilled 38 3-pointers on the season while averaging 13.5 points and 5.1 rebounds. Kelsey McKinnis, who has 37 strikes from the 3-point line, averages 9.2 points and 4.0 rebounds.

It was McKinnis who was deadly for Whitman in the previous meeting between the two schools this season. She knocked down seven 3-pointers, including the game winner in the final seconds, and finished with 27 points. Riordan added 17 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Ely had an off night with just six points. 

Men's Games

                             Brandon Shaw

A young Whitman men's team has struggled since dropping an 84-76 decision to Pacific Lutheran last month in Tacoma.

After a back-and-forth first half, Whitman trailed 42-38 at halftime but then kicked off the second half on a 13-2 roll to lead by seven points with 15 minutes left to play.

The Lutes turned the tables with a 13-2 run of their own to regain the lead. The Missionaries pulled to within 65-62 with seven minutes left, but Pacific Lutheran answered with a final game-deciding surge.

Brandon Shaw had 17 points, five assists and five rebounds to pace Whitman.

Daniel Davidson and Drew Raher added nine points apiece, David Michaels chipped in with eight, and Jordan Wheeler and Justin Artis were both good for seven.

For the season, four Missionaries are averaging in double figures: Shaw (15.5 ppg), Artis (11.5 ppg), LuQuam Thompson (11.4 ppg) and Peter Clark (10.4 ppg).

Davidson is close behind at 9.0 points per game while Michaels averages 7.8 points and a team-high 4.5 rebounds.

Whitman is No. 2 in the NWC in scoring, averaging 84.7 ppg (four points total behind Whitworth), and No. 1 in both steals (11.24 pg) and turnover margin (+7.14). Shaw tops the conference in steals, averaging 2.38 per game, while Artis is fourth and Thompson tenth.

Clark leads the NWC in total 3-point baskets with 58.

In Pacific Lutheran's earlier win over Whitman, 6-foot-4 wing Kyle MacTaggert led the charge with 26 points and six rebounds. Cameron Schilling added 10 points and seven rebounds, and Victor Bull pulled down 10 rebounds.

Whitman had a tough outing in its loss last month to Puget Sound, falling behind 47-32 by intermission. The Loggers shot nearly 60 percent for the game and held off the Missionaries in the second half.

Shaw had 23 points and five rebounds for Whitman, which also got nine points from Wheeler and eight apiece from Thompson and Raher. 

Colin Koach and Kaleb Shelton scored 18 and 17 points, respectively, to spark the Logger win. Nadav Heyman added 13 points and six assists while Bryce Levin tossed in 11 points.

Puget Sound downed Pacific Lutheran 75-63 earlier this month but has otherwise dropped four of its last five games. 

Austin Boyce, a 6-foot-5 senior, leads the Loggers in scoring at 16.1 points per game, and he pulls down 5.5 rebounds a night as well. Shelton, also a 6-foot-5 forward, adds 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Koach (11.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Heyman (11.1 ppg), a pair of guards, also average in double figures. Heyman is No. 2 in the conference in steals while Boyce, Shelton and Koach are all in the top 11.

The Loggers average 9.29 steals per game, which is second in the NWC behind Whitman. 

 - 30-

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

Published on Feb 13, 2010
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