NEW YORK CITY (Nov. 24, 2023) – The Whittier College women's basketball team showed they could be a force to reckoned with when SCIAC play begins on Wednesday night when the team closed its east coast road trip against nationally-ranked No. 2 New York University (NYU). The Poets came within eight points of beating Violets on the road, sending a strong message to the rest of the conference.
The team's pair of SCIAC Offensive Players of the Week in 2023,
Rhe Nae Leach (Riverside, Calif. / John W. North) and
LuLu Salloom (Santa Clarita, Calif. / Saugus | College of the Canyons), carried the Whittier offense with 28 and 18 points respectively. Both players played the full 40 minutes, and were consistently relied upon to key Whittier's scoring over all four quarters. Through the first two quarters of the game, Whittier had no problem keeping pace with NYU, matching totals in each frame with the second stanza standing out as a particularly defensive one. The Poets held the Violets to just six points in a standout off-the-ball effort. Unforced errors on behalf of the home team allowed Whittier to even win the turnover battle by the time the final whistle was blown. This also resulted in the Poets holding a lead over the Violets at the half-way point of the third quarter.
Collectively, Whittier assisted on 10 of 19 field goals, and came one rebound away from matching the home team on the glass. Naturally, the game came down to the final minutes, with NYU scoring some early momentum. However, Whittier did not relent, and cut the Violets' lead to four points with just over three minutes to play. While the home team ultimately came away with the win, the Poets proved they can hang with one of Division III's best teams, and appear poised to overcome their preseason SCIAC ranking and once again contend for a SCIAC Postseason Tournament spot.
Head Coach
Roy Dow and the Poets will look forward to making their home debut on Wednesday, Nov. 29 when they host Pomona-Pitzer Colleges at 7 p.m. The game will be the Poets' only home appearance of the first semester, and it should be a competitive game as Pomona-Pitzer is certainly no slouch itself. The Sagehens also have a lot to prove when the SCIAC slate begins on Wednesday night, and like the Poets are looking to return to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament following an absence in 2022-23.
Follow and show support for your Whittier Poets on Twitter (@WCPoets), YouTube and Instagram (@PoetAthletics)!
