Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University men's and women's basketball programs open up the Northwest Conference home slate this weekend, welcoming a pair of Oregon rivals while the men's and women's swimming teams dive back into competition on Saturday with a dual meet on the road against Linfield University.

FRIDAY:
MBB hosts Linfield inside Olson Gymnasium (6 p.m.)
WBB hosts Linfield inside Olson Gymnasium (8 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
SWIM at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore. (1 p.m.)
MBB hosts George Fox inside Olson Gymnasium (4 p.m.)
WBB hosts George Fox inside Olson Gymnasium (6 p.m.)
TUESDAY:
MBB at Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. (6 p.m.)
WBB at Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. (8 p.m.)

Download the PLU Athletics App: 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. 
 
To download the app to your smartphone or tablet, visit the Apple App Store (DOWNLOAD LINK) or Google Play (DOWNLOAD LINK) and search for "PLU Athletics."
 

Pre-register to receive a FREE PLU DJS Coalition ?? & Snack Bag at this Saturday's NWC ?? doubleheader! ??https://t.co/8iHB23R2WZ…#GoLutes @PLU_Mbball @pluwbb pic.twitter.com/LnJi91MGza

— PLU Athletics (@golutes) January 8, 2025

Men's Basketball: The Lutes (4-7, 1-1 NWC) opened the New Year and Northwest Conference play with a road split last weekend in eastern Washington against the Whits.

The Lutes got 23 points from Ben Tellez who drained five three-pointers on the night in a 75-73 upset of 14th-ranked and previously unbeaten Whitworth University last Friday. Pacific Lutheran held a halftime lead the following evening but was unable to hold on down the stretch, falling 84-64 to Whitman College to cap off the first road trip of conference play.

Julian Brown led the Lute scoring efforts against the Blues, scoring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds.
 
As a team, PLU ranks second in the NWC in both rebounding margin (+5.1) and three-pointers per game (8.7).
 
Women's Basketball: Pacific Lutheran (3-8, 0-2 NWC) closed out the 2024 calendar year with a 64-60 victory over Vancouver Island University before beginning conference play last weekend, dropping two games against the Whits. 

The Lutes had a chance to send the game into overtime in the final seconds but came up short 56-53 to Whitworth last Friday. It was a game that saw Jaida Wood come off the bench and lead the team with 15 points and eight rebounds while Taylor Schmidtke had 10 points.

The following night, 12th-ranked Whitman used a big run to open the third quarter, running away with a 67-33 victory. 
 
PLU's defense has held six of its 11 opponents to 60 points or less this season and ranks second in the conference in rebounds per game (40.4) and is third in both field goal defense (36.6 percent) and turnovers forced per game (16.6).
 
Women's Swimming: PLU (2-2) is back in the pool this week after over a month off from competition, resuming the dual meet season. The Lutes last competed at the Bruin Invitational back on Nov. 24, finishing third overall as a team.

Emma Gassman and Scout Hawkins led the way for the Lutes in Newberg at the two day invitational in November, both winning three events. Gassman prevailed in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstrokes while Hawkins earned the top spot on the podium in the 200-yard breaststroke and the 400-yard individual medley. The duo teamed up with Riley Maher and Melissa Zuniga to win the 200-yard medley relay as well. 

The Lutes head into Saturday's dual meet having won its last two duals after edging Willamette University 114-91 back on Nov. 9 and blowing out Pacific University 143-62 seven days later. 
 
Men's Swimming: Similar to the women, the PLU men's swimming squad dives back into action this weekend, beginning a stretch of four straight weekends of dual meets.

Last time out was on Nov. 24 at the Bruin Invitational a meet PLU finished second overall. Six total Lutes won events at the two-day meet in Oregon including Tyler Tanaka and Dakata Domingo winning three individual events and two relay events.
 
Track & Field: The Lutes have this weekend off before competing on Jan. 17 up in Seattle at the UW Preview hosted at the University of Washington's Dempsey Indoor Facility.
 
The team had a soft launch to the indoor season back in December, sending a small group of student-athletes to the Spokane Invitational on Dec. 14. 
 
Grady Lemma — reigning NWC Champion in both the 110- and 400-meter hurdles— headlined the meet, finishing the 60-meter hurdles in a personal best 8.32 seconds. Abigail Caprye had a huge day on the track and in the field, placing fifth with a personal best jump of five feet, 3 ¼ inches in the high jump while clocking a personal record of 10.12 in the 60-meter hurdles.
 
Women's Soccer: The Lutes (16-2-4) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second time in three seasons this fall and was recognized for its efforts in December with Hannah Cecil earning Scholar All-American honors from United Soccer Coaches (USC) while the team ranked 23rd in the final USC Top 25 poll of the season.

Academic Attaways: earlier this week, four football players— Nico Golla, Jacob Schuh, Nico Skinner, and Mason Taylor-Wells were honored for their success on the field and in the classroom as College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District selections.
 
Luteville 2024: It's a few days into the New Year but it's not too late to take a look at the great accomplishments of PLU Athletics during the 2024 calendar year. Dive Deeper: LINK

Fans, take advantage of this FREE Clinic hosted by @saac_plu on Saturday, February 1st! Register at the link in our IG bio! Kids receive hands-on instruction with PLU Student-Athletes as well as a FREE T-Shirt, Ball, Lunch, and Admission to the Basketball doubleheader!#GoLutes pic.twitter.com/XTwjDAC8S0

— PLU Athletics (@golutes) January 8, 2025