PASADENA, Calif. (Jan. 13, 2023) – The Whittier College women's basketball team put up a valiant road effort, but took its first SCIAC defeat of the season against Caltech on Saturday afternoon in a game where the Poets mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback that came up just shy of success.
The Beavers brought their "A" game on Saturday afternoon, defending the Poets in such a way that took away the visiting team's easy inside looks that have allowed them to bury other SCIAC foes early in games. Instead, Caltech bought extra possessions for itself and forced Whittier's key players to look outside for their best scoring opportunities. Meanwhile, the host Beavers got the job done early and often from three-point-land, an area where the Poets typically thrive defensively.
Caltech's sharpshooting from deep actually allowed them to take an 11-point lead on Whittier to close the third-quarter. With the Poets on borrowed time, the team's key players responded in kind. Senior forward Lainie James (La Habra, Calif. / Sonora / Concordia University Irvine) was able to find her deep shooting form early against the Beavers, but connected with a big three-pointer that followed a contested one from junior guard Rhe Nae Leach (Riverside, Calif. / John W. North) that rattled around the rim before ultimately falling through the hoop. Both shots quickly turned an 11-point Caltech lead into a five-point game, and when the Beavers responded, so too did James with another three to cut the deficit to four. Whittier soon got the turnover they were looking for on an Abby Pagila (Oakland, Calif. / Bishop O'Dowd) steal, and cut the Caltech lead to two following two successful free throws from freshman Yaneli Rosales (San Diego, Calif. / Mount Miguel).
Whittier's late-game defense came through with Caltech managing just two field goals in the final quarter. However, the Beavers were successful in maximizing the clock in the game's waning minutes, with Whittier having limited opportunities when it came to finally tying the game up. Caltech seemingly put a stamp on the win with a late jumper to increase the lead to four, however, the Poets set a furious pace over the game's final seconds and almost pulled a rabbit out of the hat. Rosales forced a late turnover as Pagila would score one more time late to trim the lead to two, giving the ball back to Caltech with seven-tenths of a second remaining on the clock. James managed to come up with a steal, but just narrowly ran out of time before she could throw up one final heave.
The Poets will no doubt take away both negatives and positives from Saturday's game. While they will be certainly out for revenge when Caltech rematches Whittier on Senior Day in February, the Poets cane take satisfaction I knowing they decisively won the battle on the offensive and defensive glass. Junior Lulu Salloom (Santa Clarita, Calif. / Saugus / College of the Canyons) led the way in this department with 14 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end of things.
Head Coach Roy Dow and the Poets will have a busy week ahead of themselves in SCIAC play. They will open the busy stretch of games with a rematch against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on MLK Day, which is set for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
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