Setting the Scene: The Lutes opens up its home slate tonight, welcoming Whittier College to Olson Gymnasium for the first of three straight home games.
Online Ticketing: The Lutes have made it easier for fans to attend home sporting events, signing a deal with HomeTown Ticketing to be the department's official electronic ticket provider. Lute fans can now purchase basketball tickets online at GoLutes.com/tickets or on the HomeTown Ticketing mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.
Series History: This is just the second all-time meeting between the Lutes and Poets. The two schools first met on New Year's Eve in 2017 with Whittier coming away with a 56-48 victory in California.
About the Lutes: Ashley Akamine finished in double figures for the third consecutive game but it wasn't enough as PLU was unable to keep pace with Wheaton College on Friday night at the Doug McArthur Classic, stumbling 71-41 at the University of Puget Sound's Memorial Fieldhouse.
Akamine finished the game with 11 points to lead the Lutes (0-3), hitting five of her eight shots from the floor to match her career-high set last weekend while Stacie Spahr secured a game-high 10 rebounds and dished out three assists.
"Tonight was another learning opportunity for our young team. We got outplayed by a good team on both ends of the floor but this game can have great value for us if we can leverage the learns," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell.
"Ashley continues to be an efficient scorer and we're so excited about how much potential she has this season and for her career."
Consecutive buckets from Akamine gave the Lutes the 4-2 lead through the opening three minutes of the game. The Thunder (3-1) scored the next five to take the lead but an Emi Wada three with 4:23 left in the first knotted the game at 9-9.
Wheaton scored the next eight points, spanning the opening two quarters and never looked back, cruising to the win.
Wada closed the night with nine points while Sydney Reisner contributed eight points.
PLU was narrowly edged 34-30 on the glass but turnovers proved costly for the Lutes with the Thunder enjoying a 29-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Sydney Reisner leads the Lute scoring charge, averaging 11.0 points per game while Ashley Akamine checks in at 10.7 ppg. Emily Wada is the third Lute with double-digit scoring production, netting 10.0 ppg while averaging 2.0 assists per game.
Stacie Spahr leads the Lutes on the glass, averaging 8.0 rebounds per game while Ava Edmonds hails in 7.3 rpg.
About the Poets: Whittier (0-2) heads to Tacoma searching for its first win of the season. The Poets suffered a heartbreaking 67-63 setback to University of California, Santa Cruz to open the season on Nov. 13 before being written off 57-45 against Chapman on Sunday.
Only four players scored for Whittier in the loss to the Bona Slugs with The Name Leach dropping 30 and Lainie James adding 25.
Against Chapman, the Poets led 13-8 after one quarter of play but the Panthers pulled away in the second half to secure the win.
Rhe Nae Leach is the Poets' leading scorer, averaging 21.0 points per game along with a a team best 9.5 rebounds per game, 4.5 assists per game, and 4.0 steals per game. Lainie James adds 15.5 ppg while Ilani Avila is the third WC player averaging double figure production, sitting at 10.0 ppg.
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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
Next Home Game:
Dec. 2 vs. Whitman at 6 p.m.