Setting the Scene: The Lutes resume their eight game homestand tonight, welcoming in-state rival Northwest Indian College to Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: The Lutes and Eagles have met three times since the series began during the 2017-2018 season with PLU winning all three meetings. The two squads last met on Nov. 12, 2021 with the host Lutes steamrolling NWIC 93-20. PLU has won by at least 60 points in all three meetings, averaging 93.67 points per game in the trio of wins.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (5-3) never trailed last Thursday night, pulling away in the final quarter to register a 63-56 win over Multnomah University to remain undefeated inside Olson Gymnasium this season.
Ava Edmonds paced the Lutes (5-3), dropping 21 points and was one of four PLU players in double figures in the seven-point win.
Pacific Lutheran led by as many as 12-points in the game but needed a big final quarter after the pesky Lions (2-6) clawed back into the game and tied the contest at 42 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
Edmonds put the Lutes back in front just 16 seconds into the fourth, converting an and-one play— hitting a layup and a free throw before Taylor Schmidtke hit a jumper to open up a five point gap.
Multnomah reduced it to a single possession with 7:33 remaining but a Raylie Wardenaar jumper followed by a Schmidtke three ballooned the Lute lead to eight. PLU would enjoy at least a five point buffer the rest of the way to collect the seven-point win.
The Lutes scored the opening five points of the game with Wardenaar scoring a bucket off the opening tip before Edmonds drained a three-pointer. Wardenaar and Edmonds would reverse roles at the end of the quarter with Wardenaar sinking a trey and Edmonds hitting a layup with seven seconds left as the Lutes enjoyed a 23-12 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
The second quarter saw the Lions roar back into the game, reducing the deficit to just a single possession after draining a three with 1:51 remaining as PLU took a 29-26 lead into the halftime intermission.
A Sydney Reisner trey put the Lutes up seven with 6:33 left in the third quarter but Multnomah whittled the gap to two with 3:49 left in the third before tying the game on a layup to head into the final quarter of play deadlocked at 42.
Edmonds hit nine of her 13 shots and hauled in nine rebounds to lead all scorers. Wardenaar added 11 points while Reisner and Schmidtke each collected 10. Brandie Tobin did a bit of everything to net the Birthday win, finishing with five points while leading the team in assists (five), blocks (three), and steals (two).
"Ava was outstanding tonight. The stats speak for themselves but her basketball IQ helped us win that game," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell.
"We had to battle for 40 minutes and every time they made a run we answered. Really proud of this team and how we responded tonight."
PLU finished the game shooting 48.0 percent (24-for-50) from the field while holding Multnomah to shooting at a 30.9 percent clip (21-for-68).
Messin' with Texas: The Lutes visited the Lone Star State over the Thanksgiving break and came away with a trio of wins. PLU's good fortunes began the day before Thanksgiving, draining a school single game record 14 treys in a 50-47 victory over host Texas Lutheran University.
The Lutes knocked off Concordia University 75-67 on Black Friday before closing the trip the following day with a 53-37 thrashing of Southwestern University. The three victories was part of a larger four-game win streak for the Lutes, the program's biggest streak since stringing together seven in a row during the 2018-2019 campaign.
About the Eagles: Northwest Indian (1-9) won their season opener 60-49 over Everett CC on Oct. 23 but have come up empty handed since, dropping nine in a row.
The Eagles nearly knocked off Wenatchee Valley CC earlier this month, falling short 61-51 on Dec. 9 and 48-42 the following day.
NWIC's last game was an 87-39 setback to Big Bend CC on Tuesday night. Kalise Stevan led the Eagles with 10 points while Katherine Jones racked up nine points and a team-leading nine rebounds.
1 Weekend. 3 Championships.
Check out all the celebration highlights below as PLU volleyball, women's soccer, and men's soccer all clinched league titles on Senior Day weekend on Oct. 28-29.
Fall Sports Recap
NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll
Summer Lutes
PLU men's soccer student-athlete Elijah Singleton had a busy summer serving as an intern in a lab at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. Learn more about his daily routine in the video below.
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 Home Game:
Dec. 19 vs. Manchester at 5 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