Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. – Keimi Lew went 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final minute and Monica Salazar knocked down the game winning three-pointer with two seconds left as the Poets defeated Occidental on Thursday night, 64-61, at the Graham Athletics Center.

Trailing by three with 23 seconds left, Occidental's Laura Mohler tied the game with her second deep ball of the evening. The Poets got the ball to the front court and in the hands of Lew who drove to the bucket and kicked it to Salazar who was waiting in the corner.

Salazar, who only had four points and was 0-of-2 from long range before the game winning shot, hit nothing but net and sent the crowd into a frenzy. Occidental had no timeouts and quickly inbounded the ball but the defensive pressure by the purple and gold didn't allow the Tigers to get off a shot.

The win is the third in a row for the Poets who improve to 3-1 in conference play.

Occidental (8-7, 3-1 SCIAC) led early in the ball game but gave away the lead after Kourtney Zilbert knocked down a jumper at the 8:42 mark of the first half. Occidental answered with a two-point bucket of their own but Brittany Aranda responded with a driving layup to give Whittier a 17-16 lead it would not lose until the 4:18 mark of the second half.

The Poets limited the Tigers to just four points in the final 6:45 of the first frame and went into the intermission with a 26-20 lead.

Whittier slowly built on its lead through the first half of the second stanza and got it to a game-high 10 points at 39-29 with 9:55 left in regulation. The Tigers used a 10-0 run to even the score with 6:18 left and eventually took the lead on a pair of free throws by Katelyn Rowe.

Occidental continued its surge and stretched its lead to 50-42 with 2:26 left on the clock.

Lew trimmed the lead to 50-45 with a deep ball at the 2:08 mark and strong defense by the Poets forced a missed layup which turned into a pair of free throws. Zilbert knocked down her two foul shots to pull the Poets within three points and Alex Coon later made it a one-point game with 1:22 left after she went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.

After another defensive stand resulted in an Occidental missed jumper the Poets took advantage and the lead with 50 seconds left. Zilbert found the bottom of the net from the paint and Whittier led 51-50.

The Poets put the Tigers on the foul line with 37 seconds left on their ensuing possession and a 1-for-2 effort knotted the score at 51.

Salazar had the ball for the Poets with 15 seconds left, drove to the lane and drew contact. No whistle was blown and the ball went out of bounds to the Tigers. Occidental put up a three pointer with three seconds left and Zilbert corralled the loose ball.

WC had one last chance in regulation but Zilbert's half court three hit the front iron and sent the game into overtime.

Whittier had three players finish in double figures led by Zilbert who went for 16 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and five steals. Lew added 12 points and three assists while Aranda poured in 16 points.

Coon grabbed 10 rebounds to go with eight points.

Whittier look to continue its winning ways on Saturday night as it travels to Redlands for a 5 pm tip.