Kevin Blocker

The Whitworth Pirates couldn't have finished the regular season at the Whitworth Fieldhouse with a better script Saturday night. It had everything from breakaway dunks, an arsenal of 3-point shooting, deep bench play, five players in double figures and a vociferous crowd of an estimated 2,500. The effort resulted in a 99-90 men's basketball win over the Whitman Missionaries. Whitworth moved into sole possession of first place when Linfield defeated Willamette 73-71, also on Saturday.

College women At the beginning of the season, the Eastern Washington women's basketball team was predicted to finish next-to-last in the Big Sky Conference. Don't listen to sportswriters. The Eagles defeated the Idaho State Bengals 76-52 Friday night at Reese Court. With the win, EWU (4-4, 8-12) stayed in a tie for fourth in the conference with Northern Arizona (4-4, 12-8).

As the Whitworth Pirates moved their overall record to 17-7 in an 81-58 men's basketball win over Carroll College on Thursday night, keen observers couldn't overlook the strategical genius that are a trademark of Pirates head coach Warren Friedrichs. With the Pirates holding a 36-30 lead with 42 seconds remaining until halftime, Friedrichs signaled to ballhandling guard Greg Stern to hold the ball to take some time off the clock.

Sweeney

Women's basketball The Spokane area has put itself on the Division I women's basketball map. And much of that is a result of the class of 1994. While there has always been a standout player or two from the area going on to the Division I level, one would be hard-pressed to find the overall talent of last year. Here is a list detailing how some of last year's class have done since moving on. Also included are a few area players having good seasons who aren't members of the class of '94. Statistics don't include last weekend's games.

Maybe the best way to think of the Whitworth Pirates basketball team is to think of the toy called the Transformer. Both can be manipulated to take whatever shape is desired, thanks to a variety of interchangeable parts. The Pirates used their morphogenetic ways to earn an 89-78 win against against Linfield in a Saturday night home game, claiming a share of first place in the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges. Here's how:

Things are heating up for the Community Colleges of Spokane women's basketball team. According to starting point guard Laura Fralich, CCS intends to send a message to visiting Blue Mountain (1-6 NWAACC, 5-13), when the teams meet tonight at 6 at Spokane Community College.

Whitworth used a sweltering defense and withstood a late-game shooting spree by Willamette to win 70-65 Friday night and move into a tie with the Bearcats in the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges. The Pirates, ranked No. 8 in the NAIA Division II men's basketball poll, turned away the 18th-ranked Bearcats at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Pacific Lutheran University's Erik Peterson rejected a Kevin Wright 3-point attempt with 6 seconds left, helping preserve the Lutes' 89-85 men's basketball upset of Whitworth College on Friday night. The NAIA Division II No. 7-ranked Pirates (4-3 Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges, 14-7 overall) couldn't overcome a spirited Lutes team (2-5, 8-12) and its dimly-lit gymnasium clad with orange and yellow curtains on one side of the court.

The Gonzaga women's basketball team withstood a late 25-9 Saint Mary's run and went on to defeat the Gaels 82-75 in overtime Thursday night at the Martin Centre. In many respects it was a mustwin for the Bulldogs (2-3 West Coast Conference, 7-9). "Oh my gosh - it was huge," said GU's Joy Pauley, who scored a game-high 25 points. "We've talked, we've had meetings - it was just time to go out and do it on the court."

Ivy Safranski says ex-GU coach Julie Holt took "a special quality" - motivation - to Idaho. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

EWU's Jennifer Sutter robs Kelli Johnson, helping the Eagles beat Idaho for their first Big Sky Conference win of the season. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

At least for a night, the Whitworth women's basketball team could enjoy sole possession of first place in the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges after the Pirates beat Lewis & Clark 66-62 Friday night at the Whitworth Field House. Whitworth (4-1 NCIC, 9-10 overall) moved a half-game up on Willamette, which played a non-conference game. Tonight, Willamette (3-1, 11-4) entertains Pacific Lutheran University. For the second weekend in a row, Whitworth's Pirates were the epitome of a cohesive unit. And a lot of that has to do with the play of point guard Kim McFadden.

Whitworth's Sean Weston fights for control of the ball as the Pioneers' Perry Lam gives chase. Photo by Molly O'Hara/The Spokesman-Review

College women Washington State University's Susie Jarosch ended up finishing where she started. Her jump shot with 2.1 seconds left gave the Cougars a 62-61 win over the 20th-ranked Southern California Trojans on Saturday night in a Pacific-10 Conference game at Pullman's Friel Court. The Cougars (2-2, 9-4) trailed 61-60 after the Trojans' Tina Thompson hit a baseline jumper with 6.9 seconds left.

Tully

Hell week on college campuses is usually considered the week of finals. For the Washington State women's basketball team, hell week is preparation for Southern California and UCLA. The Cougars host the Bruins at Friel Court Thursday at 7 p.m. and then host the Trojans, also on Friel Court, at 7 p.m. Saturday. Since joining the Pac-10, the Cougars are 7-25 against both schools - 2-14 against UCLA and 5-11 against Southern Cal.