Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. – Senior Cali Cubel (Oceanside, Calif.) achieved a milestone Monday as she earned her 1,000th career point during a lopsided 67-47 victory over North Central College.
Cubel becomes the first player to earn 1,000 points in a career since Kourtney Zilbert achieved this feat back on November 23, 2010. Prior to that there have been a handful of players who have been recognized for this remarkable milestone including Julie (Curtis) Kline '87, Brenna (Werner) Holcomb '97, Debbie Countess '85, Katy (Downs) Theriault '97, and Robin (Ishibashi) Jones '03.
The Purple & Gold end 2019 on a two-game winning streak as they improve to 7-6, 1-2 SCIAC. They finished the month of December going 4-3.
Whittier got off to a slow start finding themselves trailing 15-10 after the 1st Quarter as the Cardinals would use a trio of three-pointers to extend an early lead at 13-5. Daisy Cardenas (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and Emily Guerena (Montebello, Calif.) would add a three-pointer and a layup to get WC within three but a layup from Rebekah Foley would move the deficit back to five.
Turnovers proved costly in the 2nd Quarter for North Central coughing the ball up 10 times, allowing Whittier to put together a 22-10 frame that gave them a 32-25 lead at the break. The Purple & Gold started the stanza off with 17 in a row that put them on top 27-15. Guerena sparked the run off with a layup and then came back a minute later to connect from downtown. Cubel and Teani White (Burbank, Calif.) went back to back with lay-ins and Allison Lou (Cerritos, Calif.) would convert on a pair of triples that swung the momentum.
Out of the break the Poets continued to rely on their press holding the Cardinals to just single digits as they would increase their lead to double figures following a 19-9 quarter, led by two three-pointers from Cardenas. North Central attempted a comeback over the final ten minutes, putting up 13 points but couldn't break down the deficit as Whittier would add another 16 en route to the 20-point victory.
Whittier shot 41.3% from the field and 32% from three-point territory. They held a slight edge on the glass at 33-28 and won the battle in the paint at 34-14. The difference in the game were turnovers where the Poets forced a season high 28, while turning them into 28 points. They also outscored the Cardinal bench 27-13 and shot 64% from the free-throw line.
White led all scorers with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go with four rebounds, six assists and three steals. Guerena had her best game of the season adding 14 points to go with nine rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot. Cubel added eight points with five rebounds and two steals and Cardenas picked up nine points, all coming from deep.
Whittier returns to the court in 2020 when they get back into conference action on the road against Claremont-M-S on Saturday, January 4 beginning at 7:00pm.
