TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team will start its Northwest Conference schedule by heading to eastern Washington to take on Whitworth University and Whitman College.
 
The Lutes (5-4) will begin their road trip with the Whitworth Pirates on Friday. The Pirates are 7-2 on the season and are currently on a five game win streak, with their most recent win coming against Lewis & Clark. Whitworth' s early season success comes as a bit of a surprise as they were picked 8th out of 9 spots in the NWC pre season coaches poll. 
After the Lutes take on Whitworth they will head to Walla Walla to take on the Whitman Blues. The Blues were voted into the first spot in the NWC pre season coaches poll. Whitman is 8-1 on the season with their only loss of the year coming against the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. 

The Lutes were 5-4 in non-conference play and are looking to turn things around after two straight losses to tough opponents. Head Coach Jennifer Childress scheduled a tough pre season on purpose to prepare the team to compete for a spot in the postseason.

"Our non-conference schedule was very beneficial. Going into the conference schedule this week, we understand on any given night, any team can beat any team," said Childress. "The team that comes out on top has to treat every possession golden, focus on executing the game plan, and bring a competitive grit to finish every play offensively and defensively. We know from our pre-season experiences that we need to be stingy with our shot selection, give ourselves extra scoring opportunities by rebounding physically, and execute our defense from a team first mindset, making sure we are there with our help shifts."

The Lutes have shown many signs of excellence early in the season. Highlights included sophomore Katie Taylor leading the nation in three-pointers made per game with 4.67 and tying a school record with eight three pointers in one game. Senior Emma Janousek has already posted a career high in points per game putting up 29 while the team set a school record for steals in a blowout win of Northwest Indian College.

Jan. 3: PLU vs. Whitworth in Spokane, Washington (6 p.m.)

Series History: Friday will be the 73rd all-time meeting between the Lutes and Pirates with Whitworth holding a slim 39-33 advantage in the series that first began in 1980-1981.

About the Blues: Whitman (8-1) heads into the conference slate riding a two-game win streak. The Blues stormed out to a 6-0 record to start the season before falling 78-58 to University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Dec. 7 in Texas. The Blues responded the following week, closing the non-conference portion of the season with an 84-49 thrashing of University of Maine-Fort Kent and a 72-49 win over Buena Vista University.

Makana Stone leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.2 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. Mady Burdett chips in 13.7 ppg while Kaelan Shamseldin adds 9.1 ppg.

Jan. 4: PLU vs. Whitman in Walla Walla, Washington (4 p.m.)

Series History: The Blues hold a 43-31 lead in the all-time series since the 1980-1981 season, including sweeping the season series last year.

About the Pirates: Whitworth (7-2) heads into NWC play riding a four-game win streak. The Pirates suffered a 90-61 setback against Northwest Nazarene University on Nov. 26 but has been perfect in December, picking up wins at the expense of University of Maine-Fort Kent (83-65), Buena Vista University (78-60), Walla Walla University (70-62), and Lewis-Clark State University (89-83).
 
Quincy McDeid is the Pirates' leading scorer, dropping 14.7 points per game with Jordan Smith notching 13.1 ppg. Sydney Abbott adds 10.0 ppg while Courtney Gray is Whitworth's top rebounder, securing 6.6 per game.