Photo: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. (Dec. 14, 2021) – The Whittier College women's basketball team answered the bell on Tuesday evening, waging in a competitive battle with red-hot SCIAC foe University of Redlands on Dave Jacobs Court.

The first quarter of Tuesday night's contest might be a quarter of the year candidate for the Poets, at least to this point in the young season. The Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders, playing their starters for the entirety of the period who quickly forced Whittier Head Coach Roy Dow to use a timeout in an attempt to reset the momentum. The timely stoppage from the Whittier bench paid dividends, as the Poets' offense began to take flight. Sophomore guard Tiana Abraham (Portland, Ore. / Central Catholic) found senior guard Teani White (Burbank, Calif. / Viewpoint) for a big three-pointer to get the Poets on the board coming out of the break, but with Redlands refusing to relent on the offensive pressure, it was up to the Poets to keep pace. The Poets went on to close the quarter on a 9-1 run that brought them within three in advance of the ensuing period. Five different players scored for Whittier during the first 10 minutes, with three of those players successful on three-point tries to help will the home team back into the game.

The visitors continued their hot shooting well into the second quarter, though the pace of the game finally began to slow over the final 20 minutes with Whittier finding its form with a 17-12 third quarter. White came on strong for the Poets during this period, scoring 11 of her 18 points for the game while also contributing a pair of steals. White also had a solid night from a ball control standpoint, picking up six rebounds and four assists over the full 40 minutes. Meanwhile, junior forward Lainie James (La Habra, Calif. / Sonora) and senior center Amy Navarro (Pico Rivera, Calif. / Rio Hondo Community College) provided suplemental scoring with seven points apiece for the home team. It was perhaps Abraham, however, who shined brightest for the Poets on Tuesday night, who registered her the first start of her career and responded with four points, two assists and a team-high seven rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end thanks to her scrappy play. As the Bulldogs began to pull away late, the Whittier reserves began to log some minutes down the stretch with sophomore forward Natalia Williams (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Chaparral) draining the final field goal of the game on a pass from freshman forward Adriana Carnecer (San Francisco, Calif. / Urban School of San Francisco).

Dow and the Poets will now shift their focus outside the SCIAC to Wisconsin Lutheran University, who will be coming to town to play the Purple & Gold on Sunday, Dec. 19 at 3 p.m.

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