Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. – Brittany Aranda and Kourtney Zilbert each scored 15 points as they led the Whittier women's basketball team to a 63-58 win over Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday night at the Graham Athletics Center.

Aranda scored her points off the bench, playing 26 minutes and shooting 7-of-14 from the field. She added five rebounds.

Zilbert was 7-of-10 from the floor and collected eight rebounds with four steals.

Whittier (11-9, 5-4 SCIAC) started slow, shooting just 19 percent through the first 12 minutes of the game but responded with a 42 percent effort in the second half. Despite the slow start that saw the purple and gold manage just 10 points in the first 10 minutes, Whittier went to the locker room with a 31-23 lead.

The Poets had plenty of good looks in the early stages of the game but could find the bottom of the net.  Pomona-Pitzer led 10-6 at the 11:05 mark but succumbed to a 23-9 run that gave WC a 29-19 lead with 2:12 left in the half.

Whittier led by as many as 14 points in the second half with 3:38 remaining but was held scoreless over a two minute stretch to let the Sagehens remain in striking distance. The Poets used all 30 seconds of the shot clock down the stretch as they held on for the five-point win.

Danielle Quinones continued her solid play with a nine assist, four-rebound and three-point game.

Monica Salazar scored 11 points in the win.

Whittier returns to action on Thursday, February 10, as they host Redlands at 7 pm.