Lutes Try to Bounce Back After Three-Game Skid

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran (3-10 overall, 1-3 Northwest Conference) hosts Whitman (6-7, 1-3), Friday, 8 p.m.; PLU hosts Whitworth (6-7, 2-2), Saturday, 6 p.m.

FLIP FLOP: For the first time, Northwest Conference men's and women's basketball games played this weekend will be switched with the men playing first, followed by the women. Thus, if you want to watch the entirety of the PLU men's games, be in Olson Auditorium by 6 p.m. on Friday and by 4 p.m. on Saturday. Once those games are done, stick around and enjoy some outstanding NWC women's basketball action.

LISTEN TO THE LUTES: You can listen to this weekend's PLU women's basketball games on KLAY 1180 AM in the Tacoma area and also at www.klay1180.com. Long-time announcer Bob Robertson returns to call the action for the Lutes.

ABOUT WHITMAN: The Missionaries rank seventh in the Northwest Conference in scoring offense (61.4 points per game) and third in scoring defense (57.5). Whitman ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (.399) and three-point field goal percentage (.318) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.374). The Missionaries lead the conference in assists (14.92 per game) and assist/turnover ratio (0.87). Hilary White leads the Missionaries in scoring average (11.9 points per game), and Rebecca Sexton leads the team with 5.3 rebounds per contest.

ABOUT WHITWORTH: The Pirates rank second in the NWC with 66.2 points per game and sixth in the conference defensively, giving up 65.5 points per contest. Whitworth relies heavily on the three-point field goal, ranking third in the conference with a .308 shooting percentage and leading the NWC with 7.23 made three-point field goals per game. However, the Pirates struggle to defend the three-pointer, giving up a league-worst shooting percentage of .386 from beyond the arc. Whitworth's 10.31 steals per game are tied with George Fox for most in the league. Cassie Pilkinton leads the team with 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Leah Pomante averages 3.46 assists per game, tied with the Lutes' Sara Backstrom for third-most in the NWC. Pomante also averages third in the conference with 2.46 assists per game, and her 1.5 assist/turnover ratio is the NWC's second best. Kim Bluff boasts a league-high .419 three-point shooting percentage.

PUGET SOUND 61, PLU 54: Pacific Lutheran dug itself a deep hole early in the second half and despite a spirited comeback could not overcome a 20-point deficit in falling to the Puget Sound Loggers, 61-54, Wednesday night in Memorial Fieldhouse. The Lutes trailed by 16 points with 4:41 remaining when Mandy Wall hit a pair of charity tosses to start the furious rally. Goehri hit three straight baskets, Melissa Pixler buried a three-point shot, and Goehri added three more field goals, the final one cutting the Lutes' deficit to 58-54 with 24 seconds remaining. Puget Sound put the game away on Lindsay Layland's three-point play with 15 seconds left. Tracy Goehri was PLU's only player to score in double figures, while Pixler and Sara Backstrom both contributed seven points. Backstrom, a 5-5 sophomore guard, led the Lutes with six rebounds and five assists. The Lutes shot 40 percent from the field (23-of-58) but made just 18 percent (2-of-11) from three-point range.

LEWIS & CLARK 74, PLU 62: Five players contributed all but two of the points for the Lewis & Clark Pioneers against Pacific Lutheran as the Pioneers continued their unbeaten streak in Northwest Conference play by defeating the Lutes, 74-62. The Pioneers shot 65 percent from the free throw line as they were able to get the foul line 40 times in the contest, knocking down 29 of those attempts. PLU only got to the free throw line 10 times but stayed in the game by shooting 45.5 percent from the field. However, the Lutes could not slow down Lewis & Clark as the Pioneers pushed the tempo, going on a 17-6 run midway through the first half. The Lutes fought back late in the first half with a trio of three pointers, two by Melissa Pixler and one by Sara Backstrom, to make the score 37-28 in favor of the Pioneers at the break. The Lutes were able to continue their push to catch up with the Pioneers, tying the game at 46-46 at the 11 minute mark of the second half, but the Pioneers were able to pull away from the Lutes once again, going on a 14-6 run to make the score 60-52 with 5:34 left in the game. Tracy Goehri led the Lutes in scoring with 14 points, and she was joined in double figures by Jordan Westering and Backstrom with 12 each and Pixler with 10.

GO GO GOEHRI: Tracy Goehri, the Lutes' 6-0 senior center out of Spokane, has stepped up her game since the start of conference play and has become the team's go-to player. Goehri has been outstanding in that role and averages more than 16 points per game while shooting almost 61 percent from the field in PLU's four conference counters. With 29 total field goals, Goehri leads all players in conference-only games. Since the start of conference play, Goehri has raised her season scoring average to 9.5 points per game and her season field goal shooting percentage to 46 percent. 

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