TACOMA, Washington – An eleven-game winning streak is on the line when the Puget Sound women's basketball team heads to eastern Washington for games at Whitworth (Jan. 14) and No. 7 Whitman (Jan. 15) this weekend.
 
Inside the streak
After a season-opening loss to UC Santa Cruz (Nov. 5), Puget Sound has won 11 consecutive games. Nine of those 11 wins were decided by double digits. The Loggers beat Lewis & Clark, 90-83, but led the Pioneers by as much as 16 points in the fourth quarter. Puget Sound beat George Fox, 80-72, and led the Bruins by as much as 11 points in the fourth quarter.
 
From the rear to the front
Freshman Addison Reardon was named the Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week after Puget Sound's conference home wins against Willamette and Lewis & Clark (Jan. 7-8). Reardon shot 7-for-10 from 3-point range in the Loggers' 90-83 win over Lewis & Clark. She scored a season-high 28 points, 22 of which came in the second half. Reardon was one 3-point make away from tying the school record held by Cassidy Daugherty (2017-18) and Annie Pettigrew (1989-90). The day prior to beating the Pioneers, Reardon netted 15 points to help Puget Sound topple Willamette, 69-51. The Lake Oswego, Oregon native increased her scoring average to 10.7 points so far this season. She is shooting 50-percent  (20-for-40) from 3-point range. Through the first four games of the season, Reardon was averaging just over 11 minutes per game. Since then, she is averaging 22.5 minutes on the floor.
 
That's so Sophie
Sophomore Sophie Nilsson is the conference's second-leading scorer, averaging 17.7 points per game. She also ranks first in blocks (1.4), sixth in rebounds (6.4), sixth in assists (3.1), sixth in steals (1.8), and fifth in field-goal percentage (48.5-percent).
 
Defense - the driving force
Puget Sound is allowing 59.4 points per game – the lowest opponent scoring average in the NWC. The Loggers average 14.6 steals per game. They're the only NWC team averaging double digits in steals. Katie Minnehan averages a conference-best 3.9 steals, while Sophie Nilsson ranks sixth (1.8), and Paige Gerhart tanks seventh (1.7).
 
Beast of the boards
Puget Sound leads the NWC in rebounding with 43.1 rebounds per game – 17.3 of which are on the offensive end. Katie Minnehan's 2.9 offensive boards per game is fourth in the NWC, and Samantha Swartout ranks sixth by averaging 2.4 offensive rebounds.
 
Scouting Whitworth (5-7, 0-3 NWC)
The Pirates enter this weekend with four losses in their last six games. They lost their last two against Pacific (Jan. 9) and Central Washington (Dec. 30). Megan Dorney leads the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game, and Quincy McDeid averages 10.4. Whitworth is shooting 41.4-percent from the floor, and averaging 16.8 turnovers per game.

Scouting No. 7 Whitman (10-1, 2-0 NWC)
The Blues were ranked No. 2 nationally by D3hoops.com, before suffering a 72-63 loss at UC Santa Cruz (Dec. 20). Whitman is the highest scoring team in the NWC, averaging 74.3 points per game, and its 43.6 field-goal percentage leads all NWC teams. Kaylie McCracken averages a double-double with 16.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Korin Baker is averaging 13.0 points per game.