Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team is back at home tonight, welcoming Texas Lutheran University to Olson Gymnasium in the first of two home games against teams from the Lone Star State.
Series History: The Lutes and Bulldogs have met three times on the hardwood with PLU holding a 2-1 advantage in those games. The series began in the 2007-2008 season with the Lutes steamrolling the Bulldogs 64-16. The two squads met again in 2010 with TLU prevailing 78-70 in Sequin, Texas while meeting last season with PLU netting a 50-47 win.
Last season, Sydney Reisner hit a three in the final seconds to give PLU the win on a day the team drained a school record 14 threes. That included Reisner dropping six threes and finishing with 22 points.
About the Lutes: Stacie Spahr hauled in 18 rebounds while Kasidy Javernick scored 16, providing a one-two punch for Pacific Lutheran University (1-2) on Sunday afternoon in a 60-46 victory over in-state rival The Evergreen State College.
"One of our core values is growth and we showed so much of it today," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell.
"Behind some outstanding individual performances we put together a solid win."
The game was tied after five minutes of play inside the Costantino Recreation Center before a Tyalor Schmidtke three gave the visiting Lutes an 11-8 lead, touching off an 11-4 PLU run.
The Lutes led 19-14 after one quarter of play before gaining separation in the second, enjoying a 37-25 edge at the halftime intermission.
Pacific Lutheran kept the Geoducks (0-2) at bay the entire second half, maintaining at least an eight point cushion in the 14-point victory.
Javernick led the Lutes with 16 points and five steals, shooting four-for-eight from beyond the arc. Sydney Reisner had 11 points with Ashley Akamine chipping in 10.
Spahr had a career day on the glass, hauling in 18 rebounds, including five offensive boards while adding six points. Spahr's performance eclipses her previous best of 14 boards against Northwest University during the 2021-2022 season.
Thanks to Spahr's efforts the Lutes dominated the glass, owning a 51-34 rebounding edge and limited Evergreen to shooting a paltry 8.3 percent (one-for-12) from three-point range.
Kasidy Javernick leads the Lutes in scoring through the opening three games of the year, averaging 12.7 points per game along with hauling in 4.0 rebounds per game. That includes shooting at a blistering 43.8 percent clip from beyond the arc. Sydney Reisner adds 10.0 ppg while Brandie Tobin has a team-best 13 assists.
Stacie Spahr is the team's leader on the glass, averaging 9.3 rebounds per game and helping the squad enjoying a +6.7 rebounding margin this winter.
About the Bulldogs: Texas Lutheran (2-1) opened the season with a 67-58 setback to Hardin-Simmons University back on Nov. 8, but has since won two in a row, downing Howard Payne University 78-62 and LeTourneau University 86-61.
Sandwiched between the wins was a spirited effort in an exhibition against Division I Incarnate Word University, falling 57-51.
Five players finished in double figures in the win over LeTourneau, including a 14-point performance from Sarahi Jones.
Lauren Sansano is one of three Bulldogs who average double digit scoring, leading the squad with a 13.7 points per game average. Kayla Presley adds 11.7 ppg with Kailee Mulkey chipping in 10.0 ppg and a team-best 5.3 rebounds per game.
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.
Weekend Highlights from Around Luteville
Highlights from a great weekend in Luteville that including wins from women's soccer, women's basketball, and football.
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:
Nov. 25: Concordia (Texas) 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