Setting the Scene: After two games of Northwest Conference play, the Lutes step back into non-conference action to close out the calendar year, hosting Multnomah in the first of four December home games inside Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: The Lutes and Lions will be meeting for just the third time. The two squads each have a win in the series with Multnomah prevailing 69-64 during the 2016-17 season and PLU returning the favor with a 73-53 victory during the 2019-20 campaign.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (4-3, 0-2 NWC) looks to snap a two-game funk tonight as they host NAIA Multnomah in the first of eight straight home games inside Olson Gymnasium.
The Lutes opened up Northwest Conference play on Friday in McMinnville against Linfield University. PLU fell victim to a 10-0 Wildcat run that stretched across the second and third quarters, ultimately falling 65-55. Ava Edmonds was the star of the show, dropping 19 points to pace the Lute offense.
On Tuesday night the Lutes were back at it, facing reigning NWC Champion University of Puget Sound. PLU was neck and neck with the hosts after one quarter of play but a cold shooting second and third quarters ultimately sabotaged the Lutes as the Logger ran away with the 64-40 victory.
Sydney Reisner paces the Lutes offense, averaging 12.0 points per game and draining a team-leading 14 threes on the season. Raylie Wardenaar adds 8.1 ppg with Ashley Akamine adding 7.9 ppg. The trio has started all seven games this season along with Brandie Tobin who paces the team on the glass with 4.3 rebounds per game.
As a team the Lutes lead the NWC in three-point field goal percentage, hitting 34.9 percent of shots (51-for-146) while also leading the conference in turnover margin (+2.29) and ranking third in the NWC in scoring defense, allowing just 54.9 points per game.
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 Lions: Multnomah (2-4, 0-3 Cascade Collegiate Conference) heads to Tacoma for a two-game slate against UPS and PLU looking to snap a two-game skid.
The Lions opened up league play just prior to Thanksgiving, falling 72-60 at home to Warner Pacific on Nov. 21. Multnomah steamrolled Covenant 92-47 in Fairbanks, Alaska three days later before returning to CCC last weekend. The Lions led by 13 after one quarter of play against Corban but ultimately fell short 68-65. The following day Multnomah stumbled 66-59 to Bushnell despite a 26-point effort from Savannah Huerta.
The Lutes and Lions have faced a common opponent in Linfield with Multnomah downing the Wildcats 86-77 in the season opener on Nov. 9.
Huerta leads the Multnomah scoring efforts, averaging 21.3 points per game while logging over 36 minutes a game of court time. That includes hitting a team-high 21 threes, shooting at a 40.4 percent clip from distance. Kailyn Alison adds 12.4 points per game with Mia Martineau collecting 10.7 ppg. Gracie Browning is the squad's top rebounder, netting 7.3 rebounds per game while Kaela Stonebarger has a team-high 23 assists.
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.
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. 15 vs. Northwest Indian 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