Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team begins its 12-game home slate tonight, welcoming Oregon based Corban University to Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: The Lutes and Warriors have battled 16 times on the hardwood with Plumbing owning an 11-5 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams last met during the 2011-2012 campaign, with PLU falling 74-51 to the Warriors.
About the Lutes: The Lutes (0-3) are back on the hardwood this weekend, opening their home slate on Friday evening after opening the season two weekends ago in southern California. Pacific Lutheran has had a different leading scorer in each of the first three games this season. Sydney Reisner and transfer Ghadir Ramadan led the Lutes in the opener against Whittier College while Kylie Griffin had a career day leading the Lutes against University of Redlands. Kate Wooten led the Lutes in their So Cal finale against Chapman University.
The Lutes have had a balanced scoring attack this season with Kylie Griffin, Lilli Williams, and Kate Wooten leading the team with 6.7 points per game averages while Sydney Reisner checks in with a 6.3 ppg average. Grader Ramadan has the PLU's go to player on the glass, hauling in a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game while Ava Bright adds 5.0 rpg.
About the Warriors: Corban (5-0) is off to a hot start to the season, winning its opening five games, including a win over a nationally-ranked NAIA squad and another victory over an NAIA team receiving votes.
The Warriors opened the season by hosting the Hampton Inn Classic, earning an 80-63 win over Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University before downing 18th-ranked Arizona Christian University in a shootout 91-87 the following day.
Corban blew out Hope International University 99-67 on Nov. 6, a team receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Poll, before earning a 75-72 win over George Fox University and an 82-79 win over Division II Western Oregon University.
Jersey Huerta is Corban's leading scorer, averaging 19.4 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game with Emilia Bishop offering 15.2 ppg and a team-best 8.0 rebounds per contest. Jenna Albrecht adds 13.4 ppg while Layla Yost (9.6 ppg) and Tori Younker (9.4 ppg) come in averaging just a hair shy of 10.0 ppg.
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. 14 vs. Evergreen State 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