Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team closes out the 2025 calendar year and its non-conference slate today, welcoming Middlebury College (Vermont) to Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: The Lutes and Panthers have never met on the hardwood. In fact, the Lutes have never faced a team from the State of Vermont.
About the Lutes: Lilli Williams dropped a career-high 20 points on Dec. 21 as the homestanding Lutes nearly pulled off the comeback before running out of time in a 68-60 setback to University of California Santa Cruz. The visiting Banana Slugs (7-8) seized an early lead, collecting the game's opening six points and outscoring the Lutes 20-11 in the opening quarter. The UCSC lead jumped to 41-27 at the halftime break before swelling to 17 early in the second half off a three from Emilie Ngo. Undeterred, the Lutes (1-7) started chipping into the lead, scoring 14 of the quarter's final 20 points to bring the deficit to single digits. Kiley McMahon drained threes on consecutive possessions during that stretch while also getting a three from Williams. The Banana Slug lead continued to disappear in the fourth quarter with a Kylie Griffin layup with 4:04 remaining making it a two point contest at 59-57. That bucket capped off a 16-3 Lute rally stretching across the third and fourth quarters. UCSC answered with the next six points and maintained at least a six point buffer over the final minute to hold on for the win. Williams led all scorers with a career-high 20 while also grabbing three steals. Williams' production eclipses her previous best of 18 set against Northwest University two games ago. Sydney Reisner added 16, making all six of her attempts at the charity stripe while Emi Wada had a team-high seven assists along with five points and five rebounds. Griffin hauled in a team-best seven rebounds and added six points while McMahon had six points as well. PLU won the turnover battle, forcing 20 and collecting 10 steals. Bench production proved critical for the Slugs who held a 29-17 edge in that department while also outshooting the hosts with UCSC shooting at a 50 percent clip (24-for-48) to PLU's 32.8 percent (20-for-61).
Sydney Reisner is PLU's leading scorer through the opening eight games of the season, averaging 12.3 points per game, including hitting a team-high 12 threes. Reisner is also a menace defensively, with a team-high 14 steals.
Lilli Williams adds 9.4 ppg and 4.5 rebounds per game with 11 steals while Kylie Griffin offers 9.1 ppg. Ghadir Ramadan is the team leader on the glass, hauling in 5.6 rpg.
About the Panthers: Middlebury (6-2) heads to the Pacific Northwest having won four straight games and six of its last seven. The Panthers opened the season with a 58-56 heartbreaker to Springfield College and fell 82-75 to Union College eight days later on Nov. 22. Since then, Mddlebury has been unstoppable, piling up wins at the expense of Castleton State (68-40), Oswego State (50-40), Skidmore (62-49), and Colby-Sawyer (73-37).
Against Colby-Sawyer back on Dec. 6, the host Panthers outscored the Mules 17-4 in the third quarter and enjoyed a 39-16 scoring edge in the second half. That included shooting a blistering 63.6 percent from the floor (seven-for-11) during that third quarter.
Teagan Lind is Middlebury's leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points per game and is one of three Panthers that averages in double figures. Sarah Chenette drops 11.1 ppg with Calie Messina offering 11.0 ppg. Islay Moore averages a hair under 10 a game, dropping 9.9 ppg along with a team-best 6.9 rebounds per game. Middlebury averages 66.4 points per game and owns a +15.9 scoring margin on the young season.
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. 2 vs. George Fox at 5:30 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