Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team plays its opening five games of the season in western Washington, including tonight's season opener against Warner Pacific University.
Series History: The Lutes and Knights have met 12 times since the series began in 2002-2003 with PLU enjoying an 8-4 edge in the series.
The two teams met last season on Nov. 9 with Warner Pacific prevailing 52-43 in a defensive slugfest. Sydney Reisner was on fire during the game, scoring 19 points and going seven-for-nine from the field.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran is looking to make waves this season, returning a veteran squad that includes four starters from last year’s team.
Last year, the Lutes finished with an 11-14 overall record and a 3-13 mark in conference play. PLU had a tremendous non-conference slate, winning eight of its nine games outside the league, including a 50-47 road victory over Texas Lutheran University that saw the Lutes shatter a school record with 14 made threes. The Lutes would end the year with 156 total three-pointers, setting a program record that stood since the 1998-1999 campaign.
Leading the way for the Lutes is 2023 NWC Rookie of the Year Sydney Reisner. The junior from Burlington, Washington led the team in scoring last winter, dropping 11.3 points per game. Reisner was a threat from anywhere on the court, draining a team-best 40 threes on the year and shooting 38.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Ashley Akamine joins Reisner as one of two returning Lutes that started every game last season. The senior from Lahaina, Hawaii averaged 9.2 ppg and a team-high 5.0 rebounds per game last winter along with a team-best 14 blocks.
Brandie Tobin is another impact senior who started all but one game last season. The Ewa Beach, Hawaii native averaged 4.0 ppg and 4.8 rpg last year while leading the team in both assists (86) and steals (38).
Raylie Wardenaar started in 21 games last year and was third on the team In threes, draining 31. The senior from Royal City, Washington chipped in 5.9 ppg and shot 33.3 percent from three-point range.
Kasidy Javernick looks to take the next step this season. The senior from Tualatin, Oregon averaged 15 minutes per game last year but made a big impact down the stretch, starting the final four games of the season and averaged 9.0 ppg over the final six conference games of 2023-2024.
Toledo, Washington’s Stacie Spahr returns for her senior campaign and will look to fill the void left by Ava Edmonds who graduated last spring and was the team’s second leading scorer. A center, Spahr played in all 25 games last season, making six starts.
Buckley, Washington product Taylor Schmidtke was a spark off the bench last season as a junior, coming off the bench all 25 games last year and contributing 17.2 minutes per game.
PLU’s fifth senior is Jaida Wood. The Port Angeles, Washington native played in 22 games last season and provides a little bit of everything for the team.
A two-sport athlete, Shaela Allen-Greggs will add depth to the center position in her second season as a Lute. Allen-Greggs will be missing the first few games of the year as she is a key member of the PLU volleyball team that begins the postseason next weekend. The Yakima, Washington native appeared in 12 games last year, providing some muscle in the paint. That included hauling in six offensive rebounds and nine total rebounds in a tough 58-55 setback to Lewis & Clark College in January.
Emi Wada is one of seven returners to play in every game last season. The junior from Aiea, Hawaii averaged 13.8 minutes per game on the floor.
Joining the returning Lutes is three first-years in Ava Bright, Brooke Samura, and Kate Wooten and one Division I transfer in Madison Moles.
Bright joins the Lutes from nearby White River High School— the same program that produced Taylor Schmidtke. Samura comes to PLU from Aiea, Hawaii and Hawaii Baptist Academy while Kate Wooten hails from nearby Maple Valley and Tahoma High School.
A Fresno, California native, Madison Moles adds size as a 6’ 5” junior center. Moles played at Division I Northwestern State University (Louisiana) the past two seasons where injures limited her to playing in just two games. A two-time member of the Southland Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Moles was a standout at Washington Union High School, averaging 15 ppg and 10 rpg as a senior.
About the Knights: Warner Pacific played an exhibition last night against the Oregon Ducks and opens its regular season slate today inside Olson Gymnasium.
The Knights finished last season with a 7-19 overall record, including a 5-17 mark in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Warner Pacific won five of its opening six games last season before dropping 18 of the next 19. The team ended the season on a high note, blowing the doors off Northwest University 93-58 on senior day.
WPU lost its top two scorers from a season ago with McKeeley Tonkin the top returner, averaging 8.3 points per game and 4.8 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 saw men's and women's soccer clinch NWC titles along with wins from volleyball 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. 22: Texas Lutheran 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