Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team continues its six game homestand tonight, welcoming University of California Santa Cruz to Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: The Lutes and Banana Slugs have met four times since the series began during the 2004-2005 campaign with PLU having won all four meetings. The two programs last met on Dec. 28, 2015 with the Lutes securing a 62-49 victory.
About the Lutes: The Lutes (1-6) scored the opening 11 points last Sunday and never looked back in a 64-47 victory over in-state rival Evergreen State College.
PLU tallied a season-high 24 points in the opening quarter and never relented in the wire-to-wire win inside Olson Gymnasium.
Sydney Resiner led the charge, scoring 18 points while Emi Wada and Kylie Griffin both added 11. Lilli Williams hauled in nine rebounds with Grader Ramadan grabbing eight boards and scoring six points off the bench.
PLU's defense forced 25 Geoduck turnovers and limited the hosts to shooting just 31.3 percent (20-for-64) from the floor, including just 11.8 percent (two-for-17) from distance.
Sydney Reisner is PLU's leading scorer through the opening seven games of the season, averaging 11.7 points per game, including hitting a team-high 12 threes. Reisner is also a menace defensively, with a team-high 11 steals.
Kylie Griffith adds 9.6 points per game while Grader Ramadan is the team's rebounding leader, coming off the bench and averaging 6.0 rebounds per game.
About the Banana Slugs: UC Santa Cruz (6-7) slinks into Olson Gymnasium to close out a three-game road swing of Washington State. The Banana Slugs held on for a 67-62 victory over Whitworth University on Wednesday night. It was a wild game that saw UC Santa Cruz outscore Whitworth 20-2 in the second quarter but the host Pirates made it close in the fourth, outscoring the Slugs 22-10.
Ellie Ngo led the charge against Whitworth, scoring 18 points with 10 assists and was one of four UCSC players in double figures. Alexa Litrchev dropped 17 along with 14 rebounds while Alyssa Jackson tallied 14 points.
Prior to the tour of the Evergreen State, the Slugs played three games in Southern California. Visiting UCSC fell 62-43 to University of Redlands, earned a 67-57 win over California Institute of Technology, and fell 61-42 to California Lutheran University.
Emile Ngo leads the Banana Slug scoring efforts, averaging 14.3 points per game along with 5.8 assists per game and a team-best 23 steals. Alexa Litchev is contributing 12.4 ppg and 7.2 rebounds per game with Claire Gallo dropping 11.1 ppg. Sara Reuter leads the team on the glass with 7.6 rebounds per game and adds 8.0 ppg on the offensive end.
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:
Dec. 30 vs. Middlebury at 2 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