Whitman Women’s Basketball (No. 1 seed) triumphed over George Fox University (No. 2 seed) in the Northwest Conference (NWC) Tournament Championship on March 1, clearing a big hurdle and guaranteeing NCAA tournament eligibility. The game was as close and hard-fought as its final 48-45 score indicated, with George Fox leading for much of the first half before Whitman clamped down defensively for the victory. 

Heading into the championship game, the two teams had faced off twice during the 2024-2025 season, with Whitman winning both contests by similarly slim margins. The second of those games, which took place on Feb. 14, won Whitman the NWC Regular Season Title and home court advantage in the NWC tournament. 

In their third matchup, the two teams battled it out defensively. For a brief moment, it looked as if Whitman might be headed toward a comfortable win, jumping out to a 12-6 lead in the first quarter with multiple easy baskets. However, George Fox fought back heavily, bringing the first quarter to a close with the Blues down 15-20.

In the second period, foul trouble began to plague Whitman as senior forward Korin Baker picked up her second foul two minutes into the quarter and sat for the rest of it. It was a rough ten minutes overall for the Blues, who were plagued by turnovers and an offensive outburst from George Fox’s Alyssa Wells. Still, Whitman managed to close the gap to 25-29 to end the half. 

Out of halftime, the Blues’ defensive intensity ratcheted up, and they held George Fox to just 16 points in the second half, including a five-minute stretch with 0 points after senior guard Natalie Lundberg took a charge. 

Lundberg was a key defensive presence for the Blues, who were missing a formidable inside defender in Baker for long stretches of the game. Lundberg made several highlight defensive plays, including a dive to keep possession of the ball in the third quarter and an aggressive steal that forced a backcourt violation with under two minutes to play. 

“We’ve emphasized [that] it’s all about the little things, and those are the controllables and the energy plays that we make all the time, so it’s just about doing the little things right to get big plays like that,” Lundberg said. 

Sophomore guard Holly Morgan hit another clutch end-of-quarter layup this game, taking the lead from George Fox and leading Whitman into the fourth quarter up 39-38.

“We just went back to fundamentals, honestly. The layup was a hand off with the post, exactly the same as what happened yesterday. It was just like a big relief going back out there and doing that, but every point is always a team effort,” Morgan said. 

After George Fox’s last-ditch three-point attempt missed at the buzzer, Whitman celebrated their hard-fought 48-45 victory with a student mob rushing the court to join them. 

Though it was a happy ending, the journey wasn’t always pretty, as Head Coach Michelle Ferenz attested to. 

“I thought we executed really well, we just didn’t finish. Missed a lot of layups, missed some free throws, stuff we normally make. I was really proud of the defense and the rebounding. We stayed very resilient. I thought some calls didn’t go our way down the stretch, I thought they missed a couple of things, like that over and back call they didn’t make. Some things just kind of didn’t go our way, but the kids just stayed focused and that’s what a champion does,” Ferenz said. 

The Whitman women’s NWC triumph was made that much sweeter by the tight-knit team element that drove such a result. 

“Oh my gosh, it really means so much to me. These girls are the world to me. I love practicing with them every day, and [the championship victory] is just a tribute to what we do day in and day out. These girls all work really hard, and I love them so much,” Lundberg said.

“It means a lot. I mean, after last year, we definitely expected big things, and we’ve come back with pretty much the same team. I think getting this after basically two years of working at it has been really, really big for us,” Morgan said.

Coach Ferenz also spoke highly of the team and its journey to the championship, highlighting the senior class that has propelled Whitman to the top. 

“This group of seniors, you know, Korin [Baker], Lindsay [Drango], Carly [Martin], and Natalie [Lundberg], who have played together for four years, and then Christiane Carlisle — they’ve been a pleasure to coach. They really wanted it, but they also are really great teammates; they take care of each other. They’re just positive people to be around, so it’s been a lot of fun,” Ferenz said. 

With the NWC Tournament behind them, the Blues now turn their sights toward the NCAA tournament and a chance for greater glory. Coach Ferenz expressed her eagerness to host the tournament at Whitman. 

“I really, really hope we get to host. I mean, we don’t know until Monday, but this team is perfect against Division III opposition. They’re 26-1,” said Ferenz. 

The team’s singular loss on the season was from a match against NAIA Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho).

“They’ve earned the opportunity to have the tournament here, which I think would be really cool for the campus,” Ferenz said. 

The Blues finished the 2024-2025 regular season with a 24-1 overall record and a 16-0 conference record before topping both George Fox in the final and Linfield in the semifinals. With this victory, the team confirmed their berth to the NCAA tournament, which they likely would have qualified for anyway given their record and national ranking. 

“We wanted to go to this tournament. We’re just so happy and so excited that we actually get to go beyond our conference in the postseason, and hopefully we can go all the way in the NCAA tournament,” Morgan said.

“In the tournament, you’ve gotta win to stay alive, so I hope we win a lot, because I’ll be sad when it ends,” said Coach Ferenz.