Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Whittier College Women's Basketball team extended their winning streak to eight games Saturday afternoon as they held on for the 75-70 victory over Cal Lutheran University.
The Purple & Gold have been red hot in the month of January putting together a 6-0 mark with their last loss coming back on December 22 to Grand Canyon University.
Whittier improves to 13-6, 7-2 SCIAC following the season sweep over CLU and currently sit in sole possession of 2nd place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings. The last time Whittier recorded 13 wins in a single season was back in 2009-10, under Brad Durchslag as WC finished 13-12, 6-8 SCIAC.
Even though Cal Lutheran had all five starters in double figures it still wasn't enough to top the Poets who were led by Cali Cubel (Oceanside, Calif.) who poured in 26 Points, with 20 coming in the second half. It was a strong start in the opening quarter for the Poets who held an 18-15 advantage. It was back and forth in the early stages of the game before a three-pointer from Emily Guerena (Montebello, Calif.) at the 3:45 mark would swing the momentum putting WC on top 16-14.
The lead for the Poets then extended to seven early in the 2nd Quarter following a Cyerra Dillard (Fremont, Calif.) layup and a pair of free throws from Cubel. But this advantage wouldn't hold as CLU would chip away getting within three at the break. The lead was cut down to one following four straight by the Regals in the 3rd Quarter. But immediately after Whittier was able to string together seven unanswered, which included jumpers from Dillard and Teani White (Burbank, Calif.) and a triple from Dallas Martinez (Kaneohe, HI).
Cal Lutheran then mounted a comeback with eight straight to tie things up at 43-43. But after that Cubel took over with back to back three-pointers followed by a Kellie Ogata (Torrance, Calif.) layup that closed out the period giving the Poets a 51-43 advantage.
It became a double-digit deficit to start the 4th Quarter after Shaeleigh Wright (Long Beach, Calif.) would convert a layup. Ogata then answered a minute later with a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 11 and from that point the Regals were forced to play catch-up. They put together a couple of mini runs late in the quarter and came up clutch from deep getting within four at the 2:18 mark. But again Cubel was unstoppable this time knocking down a three-pointer, grabbing a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass and adding a layup that made it a nine-point game with 1:09 to play.
With under a minute to play the Regals didn't go away quietly as Haley Tyrell would add a layup. After two free throws from White, Tyrell would come down and add another layup that moved the score to 70-63. White was again fouled on the Poets next possession and she again made both free throws. Then with under :20 seconds to play the fireworks began as Natalie Ruhl would knock down a three-pointer, while getting fouled. She would convert the four-point play that made it a five-point game and we weren't done there. Martinez would get sent to the line on the next possession and she would go 1-for-2. CLU then came down and this time Mackenzy Iwahashi would knock down a triple that made it a three-point game. But the time would run out for the Regals as Cubel would secure the win with two free throws.
Along with her game high 26 points, Cubel would add two assists and two steals. She was also 9-of-16 from the field and 4-for-7 from deep. Guerena off the bench was big for the Poets finishing with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go with six boards, an assist, two steals and two blocks. White barely missed out on a double double with nine points and 10 rebounds. She also had five assists and a steal. Wright was in the starting spot for the Poets and added eight points with seven rebounds and Martinez in 16 minutes of action registered eight points.
Whittier had a strong shooting performance on the night with a 44% clip from the field and a 28% mark from behind the arc. Despite being outrebounded 42-34 the Purple & Gold forced 20 CLU turnovers and earned 22 points off of them. They also held the advantage in the paint 36-26.
Whittier remains on the road this Wednesday, January 29 as they take on Caltech in Pasadena, Calif. Game time is set for 7:00pm.
