Photo: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. (Jan. 8, 2022) – After going nearly three weeks without playing a game, the Whittier College women's basketball team looked as good as ever on Saturday afternoon, defeating California Lutheran University, 59-46, on Dave Jacobs Court.

A 6-for-7 shooting performance from junior forward Lainie James (La Habra, Calif. / Sonora) helped lead the Poets to a collective 51.8-percent shooting day, their best cumulative outing of the season to date. However, Whittier was every bit as good defensively, setting the tone against a team that came into Saturday with a shallower than usual bench. As a result, the later stages of the game favored the Poets as the Regals began to work their way into foul trouble, opening the door for a 26-point second quarter from the home team where five different players registered baskets.

Senior guard Teani White (Burbank, Calif. / Viewpoint) had another stellar outing as she continues to make a case for herself in the postseason awards. She shot better than 50-percent from the field for the fourth time this season and dumped in 24 points to go with 12 rebounds (11 of which came on the defensive end), making it four double-doubles on the year to date. She also came five assists away from the elusive triple-double. While the Poets led wire-to-wire with the exception of the game's first five minutes, the Regals showed some third-quarter resilience when they started to find their stroke from deep. However, the Poets answered with their own offensive play, as a three-pointer from James off a dish from senior guard Daisy Cardenas (Santa Clarita, Calif. / Canyon) helped quell the run. From a ball movement standpoint, the Poets equally excelled, as their 18 team assists also represent a season-best.

"I thought we did a nice job shaking off the rust early and finding a rhythm in the spots we needed to," Head Coach Roy Dow said. "Credit to Cal Lutheran. They played hard and once we knew they weren't going to just go away, I thought our players did a tremendous job of executing on both ends of the floor and limiting the mistakes. If you can do that, you're going to have games like today where you shoot plus-50 percent, and if we can do that, we'll be tough to stop."

White and James were not the only Poets to step up on Saturday. Freshman Rhe Nae Leach (Riverside, Calif. / John W. North) returned to action and made her presence felt with three steals and even more defensive plays that helped disrupt the Regals' rhythm from the outside. Meanwhile, freshman guard Tiana Abraham (Portland, Ore. / Central Catholic) had four assists in just 12 minutes of action, and junior center Bella Robles (Lompoc, Calif. / Lompoc) played her best game of the season providing a boost to the Poets both and transition and underneath the basket. She finished the day with six points and three rebounds. Additionally, Whittier outrebounded Cal Lutheran, 42-28, in another dominant showing on the glass.

Dow and the Poets will not have much time to celebrate the win, as they will be traveling to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (2-2 SCIAC) on Monday, Jan. 10 for a 7 p.m. game.

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