This Week
Friday, Jan. 8, Pacific Boxers (5-6/0-2 NWC) vs. Whitworth Pirates (7-4/2-0 NWC)
Stoller Center, Forest Grove, Ore., 6 p.m.
All-Time Series: Whitworth leads 37-17, Pirates have won last 14 meetings
 
Saturday, Jan. 9, Pacific Boxers vs. Whitman Missionaries (9-1/2-0 NWC)
Stoller Center, Forest Grove, Ore., 4 p.m.
All-Time Series: Whitman leads 28-26, teams split two meetings last season
 
The Boxers return to Northwest Conference play this coming weekend, hosting the two squads that are tied with George Fox on the conference's top rung. Pacific finished up its non-league slate at 5-4 and is now 5-6 overall.
 
Tough Task: Pacific looks to pick up its first win in Northwest Conference play this weekend, but it will be no easy task. The Boxers face red-hot Whitworth and Whitman, who are a combined 16-5 heading into a Tuesday match-up against each other. The Pirates and Missionaries are also each 2-0 in conference action, tied for first with George Fox.
 
Luck of the Draw: NWC schedule makers didn't do any favors for Pacific to tip off the season. Pacific opened with Willamette and George Fox, and now face Whitworth and Whitman. That foursome is a combined 35-7 on the season. Willamette is 8-2 and defending league champ George Fox is 11-0.
 
Non-Conference Split: In Pacific's final games of the 2015 calendar, the Boxers split four road games. Coach Jennifer Mountain's team went 1-2 on a trip against SCIAC teams in southern California, and then whomped up on Walla Walla University on Sunday (Jan. 3). All three games in SoCal were decided by five points or less, and the win over the Wolves came by a 43-point margin.
 
Conference Counters: Northwest Conference play began early this year (Dec. 4-5), and the Boxers had to wear their 0-2 start without an opportunity for improvement to their league record for another month. Pacific lost to Willamette (67-60) and No. 2/4 nationally ranked George Fox (75-64).
 
New Look Boxers: Pacific has a new look in 2015-16 on a number of fronts, including at the top of the food chain. First-year head coach Jennifer Mountain replaces Sharon Rissmiller, who stepped down last spring after eight seasons at the Boxer helm to become the Director of Basketball Operations at Oregon State. Mountain comes to Forest Grove after one season as the Associate Head Coach at Portland State and six years as the head coach at the University of Santa Clara. She also has seven years experience as an assistant at Gonzaga.
 
And the Children Shall Lead Them: Pacific's roster has only one senior that has seen significant playing time this season--Kyla Siri (5-6, Spring Creek, Nev.). Juniors and freshmen account for most of the minutes thus far, including rookie collegians McKenna Mulder (6-2, Woodland, Wash.) and Charli Elliott (5-9, Seattle, Wash.). Elliott has started all but one game this year and is averaging just under six points and six rebounds a game. Mulder is the first post player off the bench and has been playing nearly 15 minutes a contest.
 
Clippings for Curl: Pacific's offensive attack through 11 games has been spearheaded by junior forward Sarah Curl (6-0, Portland/Westview HS). The returning starter is averaging 18.5 ppg and 7.4 rebounds, and has 32 steals. That point total ranks third in the Northwest Conference and she leads the league in rebounds and steals. The Boxers' other returning starter Kyla Siri is putting up 9.3 points a contest and is shooting 83 percent from the free throw line.
 
JC Juice: Two junior transfers from Washington junior college programs are making a huge impact on the Boxers. Karli McHone (G, 5-4, Glenns Ferry, Idaho/Walla Walla CC) is averaging 13.0 ppg, has 43 percent marksmanship from three-point range and 84 percent from the free throw line. That ranks fifth and sixth respectively in the conference. Point guard Nikki Gilbert (G, 5-0, East Wenatchee, Wash./Whatcom CC) adds 6.2 points and a team-best 35 assists.
 
Raining Three's: The Boxers have hit 81 three-pointers in 11 games, an average of 7.4 per contest and 41 more treys than their opponents. The 81 threes is second best in the NWC and the .357 percentage is third. Junior guard Jillian Ross (5-5, St. Helens, Ore.) came off the bench to hit five of seven for a career-high 17 points in an upset attempt of nationally ranked (NAIA) Carroll College on Nov. 22 and is 12-of-31 on the season. Karli McHone leads the team with 27 makes (.435) and Sarah Curl has 13. Nikki Gilbert is 12-of-31 and Kyla Siri is 10-for-35.
 
15-foot Marksmanship: The Boxers are shooting 73 percent as a team from the free throw line, best in the NWC. Karli McHone leads the way, having canned 26 of 31 charity stripe attempts (.839), followed by Kyla Siri at .830 (20 for 24) and Sarah Curl at .800 (28 for 35).
 
Scoring Frenzy: With this the first season for the new women's collegiate rules,  playing four 10-minute periods, no "quarter" records are yet available for comparison. But surely, Pacific's 27 second quarter points during a loss to No. 2 nationally ranked George Fox and certainly their seven-for-seven marksmanship from three-point range would sit in the record books for quite some time. Pacific netted ALL seven of its trey attempts during a wild second period where the Boxers outscored the Bruins, 27-22. Point guard Nikki Gilbert had three of those long bombs while Sarah Curl and Karli McHone had two each. In total, the Boxers hit 9-of-15 field goal attempts in the quarter.
 
Probable Starters: Coach Mountain likely will send this group to the floor this weekend when the starters are announced.
*G—#10 Karli McHone (5-4, Jr., Glenns Ferry, Idaho/Walla Walla JC)
*G—#24 Nikki Gilbert (5-0, Jr., East Wenatchee, Wash./Whatcom JC)
*G—#30 Kyla Siri (5-6, Sr., Spring Creek, Nev./Southwestern Oregon CC)
*F—#5 Sarah Curl (6-0, Jr., Portland, Ore./Westview HS)
*F—#34 Charli Elliott (5-9, Fr., Seattle, Wash./West Seattle HS)
 
Pre-Season Look: Pre-season No. 4 nationally ranked George Fox is the coach's pick to win the Northwest Conference again this season. The Bruins went 16-0 in NWC play last year and were 32-1 on the season, losing only to Thomas Moore College in the NCAA Division III national championship. After the Bruins, Whitworth and Whitman tied for second in the poll followed by Puget Sound, Lewis & Clark, Pacific, Linfield, Willamette and Pacific Lutheran. For the latest NWC standings, click here.
 
Pirate Bounty: Powerhouse Whitworth comes to Forest Grove with a 7-4 mark, having only lost to NCAA Division II Central Washington and NAIA Eastern Oregon, along with California Lutheran and Babson. The Pirates opened NWC play in early December with decisive wins over Lewis & Clark (67-42) and Linfield (77-65). They have won four of their last five contests. Returning All-NWC pick K.C. McConnell is one of the league's top players, averaging 19.7 points and 6.0 rebounds a game and she also has 31 assists. The 5-7 senior guard is a three-time all-conference pick and has 1,308 career points. She has earned NWC Player of the Week honors three times this season already. 6-0 post Faith Emerson is the only other Pirate in double figures at 11.4 points per game. Like the Boxers, Whitworth can shoot, having hit 67 three-pointers and they have converted .727 percent of their free throw attempts. The dean of NWC coaches, Helen Higgs is in her 22^nd season at Whitworth and has a career mark of 326-212—more wins than any women's basketball coach in NWC history. The Pirates have three straight 20+-win seasons to boast of and they were 21-5 a year ago.
 
Whitman Words: The Missionaries bring a 9-1 record and 2-0 NWC mark to the Stoller Center. Whitman's only loss this season was to Calfornia Lutheran (74-64), and they have impressive non-conference victories over Eastern Oregon, College of Idaho and Warner Pacific. They also tipped off NWC play with wins over Linfield (78-62) and Lewis & Clark (61-60). 5-10 sophomore Casey Poe leads Whitman in points (13.3) and assists (34). Alysse Ketner, a 5-8 junior, adds 10.4 points a contest and Hailey Ann Maeda (5-10, Sr.) checks in at 7.7 and a team-best 6.7 boards. The Missionaries have 124 steals in 10 games and hold a 6.7 rebound margin on their opponents. Head coach Michelle Ferenz is in her 15^th season at Whitman and has a career mark of 228-146. She has led the Missionaries to five straight NWC tournaments. In 2013-14, Whitman went 31-2, reaching the NCAA Division III national title game. Last year, Ferenz's squad finished 16-10 overall and 11-5 in the NWC, good for fourth place.
 
Watch and Listen: Pacific's NWC home basketball games are streamed live at goboxers.com with Matt Richert handling the play-by-play. Go to goboxers.com for the link to Live Stats and Video Stream.