CLAREMONT, Calif. - One day
after the Whittier College and Pomona-Pitzer men's basketball teams
battled to an overtime decision the women did the same. This time,
however, the result would be different as the Sagehens upset the
Poets, 68-65, at Voelkel Gymnasium on Thursday night.
The Poets (15-9, 7-6 SCIAC) were led by Kourtney
Zilbert who recorded her seventh double-double of the
season with a 17-point and, a season-high, 18-rebound effort. Her
previous high on the glass was 12 boards which she accomplished
twice.
Whittier struggled from the field in the first half as they shot
a mere 27 percent (11-for-41) but still managed to take a 24-21
lead into the intermission. The purple and gold did not trail in
the first frame and twice built as large as a nine-point lead.
WC surrendered the lead for the first time in the game at 33-31
with 15:04 to play in the second half but quickly took the lead
back by going on an 8-0 run to go up 39-33 with 11:35 left in
regulation.
Whittier matched its first half high for a lead with a
nine-point advantage, 58-49, with 2:45 to play but the Sagehens
(7-16, 3-10 SCIAC) ended regulation on an 11-2 run to tie the score
at 60.
The Poets had two chances at the end of the game to tie the
score with a three-pointer but Morgan Sabala and
Erica Amico both came up short.
The Poets remain in fourth place in the conference as
Occidental, La Verene and Redlands have all secured a spot in the
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
The Poets conclude their regular season on Saturday, February
21, at 5:00 p.m. as they host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on 'PAC
the GAC' night at the Graham Athletic Center. The winner of
Saturday's game will receive the fourth berth into the SCIAC
playoffs.
CMS defeated the Poets, 65-56, on January 29.