Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball rang in the New Year last weekend in eastern Washington and opens its home Northwest Conference slate tonight by welcoming Oregon rival Linfield University to Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: The Lutes and Wildcats have battled 88 times on the hardwood with Plumbing enjoying a 52-36 edge in a series that dates back to the 1980-1981 campaign.
The two teams split the season series last year, each winning on their home court. The Wildcats earned a 65-55 victory on December 1, 2023 but the Lutes got the last laugh, prevailing 51-38 inside Olson Gymnasium in late January.
About the Lutes: PLU (3-8, 0-2 NWC) was without its top scorer as it opening Northwest Conference play on the road, dropping a pair of games in eastern Washington.
The Lutes suffered a heartbreaking 56-53 setback to Whitworth University in the conference opener on Friday night before falling 67-33 to 12th-ranked Whitman College the following evening.
A Jaida Wood three tied the game against Whitworth heading into the fourth quarter before a Tami Gallo-Paul free throw put the Lutes up one with 7:30 to go. The Pirates would take the lead just a few moments later and never trailed the rest of the way. A Brooke Samura jumper made it a one point game with 69 ticks left but the Lutes were unable to come any closer, misfiring on their final two shots of the night.
Wood was a big spark off the bench, scoring 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds in just 25 minutes of action, draining a season-high four threes while Taylor Schmidtke added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Last Saturday, the host and nationally-ranked Blues were on fire to open the second half, using a 22-2 run to pull away from the visiting Lutes. Brooke Samura led the way for the Lutes with nine points and six rebounds while also getting two steals and a block.
Sydney Reisner is the Lutes' leading scorer, averaging 13.8 points per game. Kasidy Javernick adds in 8.4 ppg, 4.4 rebounds per game, and a team-best 25 steals while Taylor Schmidtke contributes 7.1 ppg. Stacie Spahr headlines PLU's rebounding efforts, averaging 7.1 rpg.
About the Wildcats: Linfield (10-1, 1-1 NWC) won its opening 10 games of the season before suffering its first setback last Saturday 66-56 at the hands of George Fox University.
Seven of Linfield's 10 victories to open the season came at the expense of Division III opponents, including a 73-54 thrashing of Pacific University last Friday in the NWC opener. The Wildcats led wire-to-wire against the Boxers, scoring the opening nine points and 22 of the 29 points scored in the opening quarter. It was cruise control from there for the Cats who had 21 points from Gillyan Landis and 17 from Miki Vermeulen.
Linfield owned a six-point lead on George Fox the following evening but the visiting Bruins outscored the Cats 22-14 in the final 10 minutes to escape with the win. Eve Burke led Linfield in the loss, dropping 14 points.
Four Wildcats average double digit scoring production with Gillyan Landis the best of the bunch at 13.7 points per game while also adding 6.4 rebounds per game. Eve Burke adds 11.9 ppg and 6.1 rpg with Amelia Solt and Allie Mead contributing 10.2 and 10.0 ppg, respectively. Miki Vermeulen averages a shade under 10 at 9.5 ppg while leading the team on the glass with 7.9 rpg.
Giving Back to the Community
Earlier this fall, the PLU women's basketball program gave back to the local community, volunteering with Metro Parks Tacoma doing a restoration project at Catherine Ursich Park.
NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll
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.
Last spring PLU became just the second Division III school in the nation and the first school in any division in the State of Washington to partner with Athlete's Thread. Athlete's Thread allows every Lute student-athlete to sell customizable gear and jerseys with their name and number and receive monetary compensation for a portion of each sale. Check out the link above to order your gear today!
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 Home Game:
Jan. 11: George Fox University at 6 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
Credits:
Lindsey Clark