Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. - The Whittier College women's
basketball team picked up its third straight win of the season on
Saturday evening at the Graham Athletics Center as junior
Tina Merlino scored 16 points and pulled down
eight boards to lead the Poets to a 74-55 win over La Sierra.
Whittier (6-3) jumped out to a 47-23 lead at halftime behind
20-of-38 shooting (52 percent) which includes a 4-of-7 mark from
behind the three-point line.
Merlino scored half of her points in the first frame where she
shot 4-of-5 from the field in 11 minutes of action. Fellow junior
Morgan Sabala led the first half effort with nine
points.
The Poets ran its lead to as large as 31 points at 60-29 with
13:05 left in the second half and held on for the 19-point win.
For the game, WC shot 47 percent from the field while La Sierra
(2-8) finished the game at 40 percent. LSU's Audrey Ramos led all
scorers with a game-high 22 points on 10-of-21 shooting.
Sabala finished with 11 points for the purple and gold while
Brittany Aranda chipped in with 10 points.
Kourtney Zilbert scored eight points and pulled
down seven rebounds.
Zilbert, Keimi Lew, Sabala and Aranda all had
three assists and Sabala led the team with three steals.
The win over the Golden Eagles marks the second win of the
season over La Sierra and is also the first win of the Annual
Purple & Gold Classic.
The Poets return to action on Tuesday, December 29, as they
travel to San Diego to take on San Diego Christian at 5:30 pm.
