Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

ANGWIN, Calif. –The Whittier College women's basketball team jumped out to an early lead but saw it diminish in the second half as the Pioneers went on to claim the three point victory 68-65.

Pacific Union erased a double digit point differential in the final minutes of the second half to grab their second win on the season, while Whittier drops their second in a row falling to 0-2. 

It was a back-and-forth game with both teams sharing the lead throughout the first half. The Poets opened the game with a hot hand from the perimeter hitting on six of their 14 three-point attempts for a .400 shooting percentage thanks to senior transfer Tanisha White who was 3-4 from behind the arc totaling 11 points and five rebounds for the game and senior Monica Salazar who came off the bench to knock in two three pointers to help her finish the evening with 12 points on 4-9 shooting.     

But the Pioneers hung around and fought their way back into the game only allowing the Poets to go into the half with a 36-29 lead.

As the second half got underway, the Poets quickly pushed their lead back into double-digits as junior Alex Coon continued to be a force inside the paint pouring in a team high 16 points on 7-15 shooting to go with five assists, six rebounds, and one steal. After the Pioneers cut the lead to four points midway through the half, Whittier again pushed the lead back to 10 points with just over seven minutes to play.

But once again, the Pioneers would not be denied. Taking advantage of their numerous trips to the free-throw line (30) in the second half, the Pioneers slowly chipped away at the lead, and in the end those free throws would haunt the Poets as the Pioneers went on to secure the three point victory.

For the second straight game, Coach Durchslag got strong minutes from his bench as they poured in 21 points, but Pacific Union's Gabby Alvero made it very difficult down the stretch for the Poet defense as she finished with a game high 21 points thanks to shooting 17-23 from the charity stripe.

Again for the second straight game, Whittier has been outrebounded and those second chance points ended up hurting the Poets in this evening's contest as the Pioneers grabbed 53 rebounds and collected 11 second chance points.   

Whittier looks to bounce back as they still search for their first win on the young season and will look to claim that victory as they travel to take on Cal St. Maritime today, Saturday, November 19 beginning at 3:00pm.