Photos: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. (Feb. 22, 2022) – The fourth-seeded Whittier College women's basketball team is into the semifinals of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament with Tuesday's 64-39 win over fifth-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. The win represents the first SCIAC Postseason Tournament victory in the history of the women's basketball program.

The Poets, who have long since shed the "slow-starter" moniker, wasted no time in taking it to the Athenas. The home team opened the game with a 21-11 first quarter, enabling them to lead wire-to-wire against the tough Athenas squad in front of them. Some high-percentage shooting from freshman guard Rhe Nae Leach (Riverside, Calif. / John W. North) helped open things up for the Poets from outside, where three different players knocked down triples. Leach's opportunities came to fruition on the heels of an excellent stretch of rebounding, with all of the freshman's rebounds for the quarter taking place inside the first seven minutes. As the Poets remained hot, the Athenas' ball movement began to err on the side of sloppy, and a scoop and score from freshman guard Tiana Abraham (Portland, Ore. / Central Catholic) provided the exclamation point for a great quarter of basketball for the Purple & Gold.

The home team brought a similar energy to the following quarter, this time holding the Athenas to just two points, 13 total by halftime. Newly-minted SCIAC Athlete of the Year Teani White (Burbank, Calif. / Viewpoint) did some of her best work on the offensive end during the first 20 minutes where she scored 10 of her 14 points. Although the Poets would some meet resistance from the visiting team in the third quarter, defensive fundamentals helped them gradually regain their footing over the final 10 before putting CMS away with a 21-8 run over the final seven minutes. A pair of three-pointers from junior forward Lainie James (La Habra, Calif. / Sonora), who joined White today with Second-Team All-SCIAC recognition, put a massive dampener on any kind of late run the Athenas could conjure up. As compared to the two teams' previous meeting in Whittier, the Poets held the Athenas to 12 fewer shots and nine fewer tries from deep. This could be, in large part, related to the fact that Whittier forced CMS into committing 24 turnovers that resulted in a season-high 16 steals. White and Leach had four steals each, while James and Abraham were responsible for three steals each which helped lead to 21 points off turnovers and six points in transition. The Poets' ability to muscle the ball away from the Athenas made up for the third-quarter woes, and gave them an opportunity to go out on top with their largest lead of the game.

Sophomore forward Natalia Williams (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Chaparral) came off the bench to score the final basket of the game, a three-pointer from freshman wing Risa Olson (Austin, Texas / Austin Waldorf School) to a raucous ovation from the Poet faithful. Johnny Poet even made an appearance on a landmark night for the women's basketball program with more to come, potentially in the immedate future.

With the victory, Head Coach Roy Dow and the Poets will next rematch SCIAC regular season champion University of Redlands on Thursday, Feb. 24 with a spot in the SCIAC Championship game on the line. The Poets took down the Bulldogs in the two teams' previous meeting, also in Redlands, 43-40.

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