Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team continues its six game homestand tonight, opening the 2026 calendar year and Northwest Conference play against George Fox University.
Series History: The Lutes and Bruins have met 66 times since the 1980-1981 campaign with the Bruins owning a 47-19 edge in the all-time series.
The two teams split the season series last winter, each earning a win on their home court. The Lutes held GFU to just two points in the second quarter in a 53-44 win on Jan. 11 inside Olson Gymnasium while the Bruins secured a 62-57 win on Feb. 7 in Newberg.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (1-8) capped off its non-league slate on Tuesday, falling 81-49 to Middlebury College (Vermont). The visiting Panthers were dialed in to start the game, shooting a blistering 83.3 percent from beyond the arc in the first quarter, building a 22-9 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
Lilli Williams led the Lutes with 10 points and eight rebounds while Emi Wada had nine points and four assists.
PLU began its homestand back on Dec. 14, piling on 24 points in the opening quarter in a 64-47 win over in-state rival The Evergreen State College. Sydney Reisner had a banner day with 18 points and four steals while Wada and Kylie Griffin both added 11.
Sydney Reisner is PLU's leading scorer through the opening nine games of the season, averaging 11.1 points per game with a team-high 18 steals. Reisner, the 2023 NWC Rookie of the Year, has drained a team-best 12 threes this year and leads the squad in minutes played, averaging 30 minutes a game.
Lilli Williams has made a big impact in her first season as a Lute, adding 9.4 ppg and 4.9 rebounds per game while Kylie Griffin adds 9.0 ppg. Ghadir Ramadan is PLU's leading rebounder with 5.7 rpg with Emi Wada the top distributer with 31 assets on the year.
About the Bruins: George Fox (5-5, 1-0 NWC) heads to Tacoma having dropped three of its last four games. The Bruins got an early start to NWC play, defeating Willamette 78-63 back on Dec. 5.
Five days later, George Fox fell 69-50 to Division II Seattle Pacific University. The Bruins rebounded with a 48-47 nail biting overtime win over University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) on Dec. 14 but came up empty the rest of their tour of Texas, dropping games to East Texas Baptist University (52-46) and Howard Payne University (59-52).
GFU had four players in double figures in the December league win over Willamette, including a 21-point performance from Mia Skoro. The Bruins pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Bearcats 22-11 during that 10-minute stretch.
George Fox's last game against Howard Payne saw Kylie Ritter come off the bench and lead the team with 12 points and seven rebounds in a game the Yellow Jackets scored the opening nine points and led wire-to-wire.
George Fox boasts two players averaging double digit point production with Hanna Hopkins leading the way with a 13.1 points per game average. Hopkins also leads the team in both rebounding (5.5 per game) and assists (5.5 per game). Mia Skoro adds 10.4 ppg with Sophia Hardy checking in with a 8.8 ppg average through the first 10 games of the season.
As a team, GFU is averaging 60.1 ppg and s shooting at a 43.4 percent clip, including 31.6 percent from beyond the arc.
NWC Coaches' Poll
The Lutes look to defy expectations this fall after getting pegged to place ninth in the conference standings in the annual NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll. PLU collected 11 points in the poll, falling six shy of eighth ranked Lewis & Clark College. Linfield University is the preseason favorite with 60 points with crosstown rival University of Puget Sound second with 56 points.
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace last fall through the department's partnership with Opendorse. But don't stay on the sidelines, get involved and connect with PLU student-athletes on the Luteville Marketplace: LINK
The Luteville Marketplace is the first dedicated NIL marketplace in Division III on the Opendorse platform that directly connects student-athletes with fans, supporters, and business partners in an easy to use website.
Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more, the new PLU Athletics app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
Next Game:
Jan. 3 vs. Lewis & Clark at 3 p.m.
PLU Non-Discrimination Policy: Pacific Lutheran University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability or age in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Title IX Coordinator Jennifer Childress-White; 253-535-7361; TitleIX@plu.edu