Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. - Morgan Sabala and Ashley Vierra each scored a team-high 13 points as the two guards led the Whittier College women's basketball team to a 71-62 win over UC Santa Cruz on Saturday night at the Graham Athletics Center.

Sabala iced the game for Whittier (5-3) with clutch foul shooting down the stretch. She finished the game 8-for-9 from the charity stripe and matched Keimi Lew with a team-high three assists.

"It is great to see us come out with win in a close game like this," said head coach Brad Durchslag. "Morgan's free throws at the end of the game capped off a great team effort."

The Poets' largest lead of the first half matched their halftime advantage at 11 points. Whittier went up 32-21 with 2:41 to play in the half and went into the break up 34-23.

Whittier's bench outscored the Banana Slugs (2-8) 15-4 throughout the first 20 minutes and shot 43 percent from the field compared to UC Santa Cruz's 40 percent.

The purple and gold extended its lead to as many as 19 points in the second half and held on for the nine-point win.

Kourtney Zilbert finished one-point shy of her third straight double-double as she chipped in with nine points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Jenna Schonfeld added nine points for Whittier while Lew, Brittany Aranda and Ashante Reid all had six points in the win.

The Poets held the advantage in rebounds, 37-34, and forced 17 of UCSC's 23 turnovers. Zilbert and Lew finished the game with a game-high four steals.

Whittier returns to action next Saturday evening as they host La Sierra at 6 pm in the first game of the Annual Purple & Gold Classic. The Poets beat La Sierra 77-46 on November 20.