WHITTIER, Calif. (Nov. 29, 2023) – The Whittier College women's basketball team continued its impressive start to the season with a dominant win over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in the team's home debut on Wednesday night.
The Poets defeated the Sagehens, 64-45, with junior forward
LuLu Salloom (Santa Clarita, Calif. / Saugus | College of the Canyons) at the center of the things. Whittier's impact transfer left a huge impression in front of the home fans with a double-double over the game's first 20 minutes alone. She went on to shoot plus-50 percent from the field with momentum altering plays on both ends of the floor. The Sagehens kept things close with the Poets early, but much of that can be attributed to the visitors knocking down a couple late three-pointers that prompted a powerful second-half response from the Poets. However, the Poets still managed to display a marked offensive improvement over this stretch, with three different players scoring on the team's first three field goals.
Whittier outscored Pomona-Pitzer 25-8 in the second quarter, with the Poets' proficiency on the offensive boards and second-chance points keying an 18-point halftime lead at home. The Poets outrebounded the Sagehens 14-3 over the second frame, with offensive rebounds being skewed 6-0 in favor of Whittier. Salloom, in particular, showed a great level of proficiency with her positioning on the offensive and defensive boards, and came down with six of her 12 rebounds over this stretch. Meanwhile, senior forward
Lainie James (La Habra, Calif. / Sonora | Concordia University Irvine) began to find her scoring touch with eight of her 16 points, while junior guard
Rhe Nae Leach (Riverside, Calif. / John W. North) made plays on both ends of the floor to lift the Poets.
Whittier's lead sustained over the game's final 20 minutes, keeping the visitors at a distance thanks, in part, to stout defensive play and fundamentals. Salloom finished the game with five steals, displaying great anticipation whenever the Sagehens, an outside shooting team, would try to work the ball inside. The Poets wound up holding the Sagehens to a 6-of-21 night from deep, while conversely shooting 50 percent from the perimeter themselves with James and senior guard
Citlalli Gurrola (San Diego, Calif. / Mount Miguel | UNLV | Miles Community College) combining on five triples. By games end, Head Coach
Roy Dow was able to successfully mix in the back end of his rotation, particularly after James found Salloom wide open in the paint for an easy layup indicative of how the rest of the game went for the home team. The Poets led by 20 at that point, with just over three minutes remaining in the game.
Salloom led all scorers with 19 points, while Leach and James netted 16 points apiece. Leach, perhaps, could have had an even bigger offensive games than she did, but compensated with a 10-rebound double-double while leading the home team with four assists. James, meanwhile, also registered four assists to go with seven rebounds of her own. By game's end, Whitier outrebounded Pomona-Pitzer, 42-30, proving to be the ultimate, and perhaps deciding difference in the outcome of Wednesday's game.
Coach Dow and the Poets will look to keep things rolling when they travel to Occidental College on Saturday, Dec. 2 for a 4 p.m. game.
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