CLAREMONT, Calif. (Dec. 4, 2023) – Senior forward
Lainie James (La Habra, Calif. / Sonora / Concordia University Irvine) of the Whittier College women's basketball team found her scoring touch against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Wednesday night, moving the Poets to 3-0 in SCIAC play behind a77-57 victory.
Whittier was unphased by having to go on the road and play a CMS team in December that finished 12-4 in SCIAC play last year. A 32-point first quarter, which marked one of the team's fastest starts to a SCIAC game under the tutelage of Head Coach
Roy Dow, helped the women play loose team-oriented basketball throughout the remaining three quarters. CMS, by all accounts, had a fast start in their own right, but Whittier proved to be an irresistible force, knocking down each of their first five field goal attempts. In turn, the Poets created a 12-5 run to start the game, with a pair of blocks from junior forward and reigning SCIAC Defensive Player of the Week
Lulu Salloom (Santa Clarita, Calif. / Saugus / College of the Canyons) giving possession back to the Purple & Gold.
From there, James and the Poets went to work, showing they are more than capable of not only front-running, but constructing four impressive quarters en route to victory. James scored 15 of her 28 points in the first half, where she connected on a trio of three-pointers that helped kill any momentum the Athenas could muster. By the time the final whistle blew on the game's first 20 minutes, the Poets found themselves shooting over 65 percent from the field, having assisted on 11 of a possible 19 field goals. Collectively, the Poets went 6-for-9 from beyond the arc over this stretch, with seniors
Bella Robles (Lompoc, Calif. / Lompoc) and
Citlalli Gurrola (San Diego, Calif. / Mount Miguel Miles CC | UNLV) joining in on the fun.
Leading 50-32 at the break, the Poets were tasked with protecting their lead, but went on to extend it to as many as 26 points deep into the fourth quarter. Another sterling performance at the free throw line helped the visiting Poets maintain their lead, with junior guard
Rhe Nae Leach (Riverside, Calif. / John W. North) at the forefront. Leach is fast establishing herself as one of the preeminent free throw shooters in the conference, and another 8-for-8 night moved her free throw percentage to 78 percent on the year. Meanwhile, James kept the pressure on, scoring 13 more points to bring her total to 28 on the night. James' 28 points are tied for the second-most single-game points by any Poet this year, and while she found her range early, she kept things going in the second half primarily by working the Athenas over in the paint. Collectively, Whittier outscored CMS by 20 in the paint, and Salloom contributed heavily in this area, finishing the game with 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Whittier's impact junior transfer boosted the Poets' shooting percentage to 54 percent in regulation, a rate the home team simply could not match.
Salloom also double-doubled with 11 rebounds, and through the season's first eight games has reached double-digit rebounds in all but one contest.
Dow and the Poets will have a few days to fine tune their performance before hosting Benedictine University on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 1 p.m.
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