Whitworth women beat Cal Lutheran

The Whitworth women’s basketball team defeated Division III Cal Lutheran 69-57 on Wednesday in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Natalie Orrell led four Pirates in double figures with 17 points, hitting 5 of 6 from 3-point range, and had four steals. Liz Horiatis added 14 points while Leah Pomante (Mt. Spokane HS) and Cassie Pilkinton each scored 13. Tiffany Corigliano (Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls) led the Pirates with nine rebounds.

But it was when senior forward Alida Bower scored her only five points of the game that Whitworth took the lead for good at 21-16.

The Pirates (2-2) opened the second half on a 9-2 run over the first five minutes to open up a 47-31 lead. The Pirates never led by less than double digits the rest of the way and took their largest advantage of the game when Orrell’s three-point shot put them up 59-39 over the Regals (1-1). The Regals were held to under 38 percent shooting from the floor.

Friday Whitworth will play at Caltech, then follow with a game at Redlands, Calif., on Saturday, before returning for a home.

Volleyball

The University of Idaho signed four players to letters of intent: Jennifer Feicht, Miranda Pratt, Alexandra Sele, and Allison Walker.

Feicht is a setter from Woodbridge High School in Irvine, Calif. Pratt is an outside hitter from Mt. Si HS in Snoqualmie, Wash. Sele is a 6-foot-2 middle blocker from Tumwater (Wash.) HS. Walker is a 6-foot-2 outside hitter from Othello HS.

•Gonzaga University women’s volleyball senior Elaina Renius and junior Layne Brosky were both named honorable mention as the West Coast Conference announced its annual awards. Renius was the Bulldogs top offensive player, finishing the season with a team-high 392 kills. Brosky, a lefty hitter, had 252 kills.

San Diego junior Amy DeGroot took home the conference player of the year and her coach, Jennifer Petrie, was chosen coach of the year.