Lutes Seeks Third Straight Conference Win

THIS WEEKEND: Pacific Lutheran (5-10 overall, 3-3 NWC) at Willamette (2-13, 0-6), Friday, 6 p.m.; PLU at George Fox (13-2, 6-0).

CAN WE MAKE IT THREE?: Pacific Lutheran hopes to make it three wins in a row when it travels to Salem, Ore., on Friday to face the Willamette Bearcats in a Northwest Conference women's basketball contest. The Lutes take a mini two-game win streak to Cone Field House for the 6 p.m. tipoff against a Willamette team that is winless in six conference games. If the Lutes win the game, it would mark their first three-game winning streak of the season. Garnering a win on Saturday night will, however, be a more difficult task as the Lutes face defending conference and national champion George Fox in Newberg. The 2008-09 Bruins compiled a 32-0 record to win the NCAA Division III national championship. Many of the key members of that team - there were 10 freshmen on the squad - are back this year.

ABOUT WILLAMETTE: The Bearcats, under first year-head coach Anne Lapray, have lost nine straight games and have been out-scored by an average of 16 points per game this season. Guard Alex Zennan is having a very good year for the Bearcats, averaging 15.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Center Keilyn Fujioka chips in 10.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Willamette is shooting just 34 perfect from the field, 29 percent from three-point range, and 60 percent from the foul line this season. The Lutes can hardly take the Bearcats for granted, however, given last year's game in Salem. The Bearcats defeated PLU, 69-56, after losing to the Lutes by 10 earlier in the season.

ABOUT GEORGE FOX: The Bruins, currently ranked No. 6 in the country, enter the weekend with a nine-game winning streak. Prior to hosting the Lutes, the Bruins square off Friday night against Lewis & Clark, also 6-0, for first place in the conference standings. George Fox is led by sophomore guard Keisha Gordon, who averages 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. The Bruins' hopes are buoyed by 6-5 freshman center Hanna Munger, who averages 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Senior forward Elise Kuenzi and senior point guard B.B. Gardner are important cogs in the George Fox machine. George Fox leads the all-time series, 19-15, and currently holds a six-game winning streak. The Bruins dispatched the Lutes twice last year, winning 61-55 in Parkland and 73-51 in Newberg. The Lutes' last win in the series came by a 75-57 score on Feb. 17, 2006.

LATE CHARGE CARRIES LUTES PAST WHITMAN: Pacific Lutheran scored 12 of the game's final 16 points to defeat Whitman, 58-52, last Friday night. The Lutes trailed 48-46 after Kelly Peterson knocked down a pair of free throws for Whitman with 3:35 remaining in the contest. On their next trip down the floor, the Lutes got a three-point basket from Sara Backstrom to take a 49-48 margin, setting them off on their strong finish. Meghan Dowling followed Backstrom's trey with a layup, and with 1:32 remaining Melissa Pixler took a backdoor lob from Backstrom and hit a layup to give PLU a 53-48 advantage. After Hilary White scored a layup with 1:14 left to cut Whitman's deficit to 53-50, Jordan Westering hit a pair of free throws for the Lutes, followed by Peterson's basket with 31 seconds left. Pixler added a jumper and Dowling hit one of two free throws to close out the scoring. Whitman actually led for the majority of the second half before the Lutes waged their late rally. Backstrom led four Pacific Lutheran in double figures with 15 points, including a trio of three-point field goals. Pixler added 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting, Westering scored 11 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 at the foul line, and Tracy Goehri scored 10 points. Westering paced the Lutes with eight rebounds as PLU won that battle, 32-27. The Lutes shot 43 percent (20-for-47) from the field and 39 percent (5-for-13) from three-point range.

LUTES SCUTTLE PIRATES: A game that was tied 10 times went down to the wire as PLU prevailed at home over the Whitworth Pirates, 57-55, last Saturday night in Olson Auditorium. Jordan Westering scored six of the Lutes' final seven points, including a three-pointer with 1:38 left to play that broke a 53-53 tie and gave the Lutes their biggest lead of the contest. With the Lutes leading, 56-55, Meghan Dowling blocked Liz Horiatis' jumper with 18 seconds remaining and grabbed the rebound for the Lutes. Sara Backstrom's free throw with three seconds left finished off the scoring as the Lutes came back from a 23-20 halftime deficit to earn the win. Whitworth led for the majority of the contest, with the Lutes consistently tying the game up and on several occasions pulling ahead by a point. The Pirates' largest lead of the game came two minutes into the second half when Natalie Orrell's layup gave the visitors a seven-point lead. The Lutes' Tracy Goehri led all scorers with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Dowling finished with 10 rebounds, including the clutch defensive board following her late block that sealed the win for the Lutes.

GO GO GOEHRI: Tracy Goehri has played the best basketball of her PLU career during the conference season. The 6-0 senior post averages 15 points per game in conference counters, good for a tie for fourth place, and her 54 percent accuracy from the field ranks her third in that category. She has 40 total field goals on six games to lead all NWC players.

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