Setting the Scene: The Lutes return home to Olson Gymnasium, opening their final homestand of the season tonight against crosstown nemesis University of Puget Sound.
Series History: The Lutes and Loggers have met 94 times since the 1980-1981 campaign with Puget Sound owning a 67-27 edge in the series.
UPS has won nine straight in the series, including a 60-46 victory back on Jan. 14 inside the Loggers' Memorial Fieldhouse.
About the Lutes: It's crunch time for Pacific Lutheran (7-14, 4-8 NWC) as the Lutes need to win out to have a chance to secure a bid to the Northwest Conference Tournament.
PLU has dropped its last four games, including a pair of games over the weekend in Oregon. Brooke Samura scored 15 points and the Lutes outscored host George Fox University in both the first and fourth quarters but it wasn't enough, stumbling 62-57 in Newberg.
The following night, PLU led by seven at the half and held a double digit advantage early in the third quarter, before host Linfield University dropped 27 points over the final 10 minutes to escape with the 64-53 victory. Sydney Reisner paced the Lutes with 17 points with Stacie Spahr grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds.
PLU is a gritty team on the glass, leading the NWC in rebounding averaging at 39.6 per game. The Lutes are second in the league in both defensive rebounds per game (26.9) and offensive rebounds per game (12.7) while ranking third in the league in field goal percentage defense (36.7 percent).
Sydney Reisner is PLU's leading scorer, netting 12.1 points per game while Brooke Samura tallies 8.5 points per game and Taylor Schmitdke chips in 7.1 ppg. Reisner has been dangerous from beyond the arc this winter, draining a team-best 35 threes and shooting at a 35.7 percent clip from beyond the arc.
Stacie Spahr is the leading rebounder hauling down 6.8 per game with Samura netting 5.8 per contest.
Lock Down D: PLU's defense has been outstanding all season, holding opponents under 60 points in 12 games this season.
That defense put the clamps on George Fox on Jan. 11 inside Olson Gymnasium, holding the Bruins to just two points in the second quarter. It's the fewest points scored by an NCAA team against the Lutes in a period since women's college basketball moved from halves to quarters during the 2015-2016 season. It's also the third best effort in a quarter with PLU holding Northwest Indian College to just one point in a blowout 85-35 win back on Dec. 15, 2023 while the Lutes pitched a second quarter shutout of NWIC on Nov. 12, 2021, outscoring the Eagles 27-0 in that 10 minute segment in a 93-20 victory.
About the Loggers: Puget Sound (8-13, 7-5 NWC) has found its stride over the past two weekends, winning three of its last four and occupy the fourth and final spot for the conference tournament with four games left in the regular season.
The Loggers' recent run began on Jan. 31 with an 84-45 thrashing of Whitworth University. Puget Sound ended on the wrong side of an 85-48 scoreline the following night against nationally-ranked Whitman College before earning road wins last weekend over Linfield University (54-47) and Pacific University (68-61).
Carmen Cruz is the lone Logger averaging double figure scoring production, netting 10.4 points per game. Addison Reardon checks in at 9.0 ppg with Paige Oh offering 7.6 ppg. Autumn Hill is the squad's top rebounder, hauling in 5.6 rebounds per game while leading the conference in blocks with 31.
Puget Sound's boasts one of the deepest benches in the league, leading the conference and ranking 26th in the nation in bench scoring, averaging 27.1 points per game from its reserves.
Luteville Highlights
Check out the highlights from the last home weekend in Luteville.
Giving Back to the Community
The PLU women's basketball program continues to give back to the community. In the fall, the Lutes volunteered with Metro Parks Tacoma doing a restoration project at Catherine Ursich Park before volunteering at a Special Olympics basketball clinic in mid January. Learn more about the two service projects below.
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:
Feb. 15: Willamette 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:
Thu Thu Han