LA VERNE, Calif. (Jan. 3, 2024) – Junior guard
Rhe Nae Leach (Riverside, Calif. / John W. North) of the Whittier College women's basketball team put together another stellar road performance on Wednesday night, capping it off with a game-winning shot that helped the Poets take down defending SCIAC regular season champions University of La Verne, 56-55, in a pivotal SCIAC contest.
As they have in previous season, the Poets needed to contend with a Leopards team with one of the deepest benches in the conference. Whittier, however, was unfazed, even on the road. After all, this is a Poets team that cut their teeth in unfamiliar environments on the road in places like New England and New York. Nevertheless, both teams jockeyed for position for the game's full 40 minutes with neither team able to create true separation. The largest lead of the game belonged to the Poets, with Whittier turning a five-point halftime advantage to seven following a block from Leach that the star junior would then turn into a fast break layup for the easy two.
Whittier's biggest quarter, the second, saw them outscore the Leopards 15-11. However, the home team clawed its way back within striking distance, feeding off the home crowd to stymie Whittier from deep. However, perhaps even more impressively, Whittier held La Verne, a team that has taken as many three-pointers on a per game basis as any SCIAC team in recent years, to just 5-of-28 shooting from the perimeter, continuing a trend of the Poets' status as one of the SCIAC's top defensive perimeter units.
Leach was not the only player to star for Whittier. Junior
Lulu Salloom (Santa Clarita, Calif. / Saugus / College of the Canyons) picked up her second double-double in as many games, this time posting an 18-12-2 line that saw her nab four of her rebounds on the offensive end. Leach, too, had a big game on the offensive glass, with four of her seven rebounds resulting in second-chance opportunities. Whittier's success on Wednesday can also be attributed to the team cleaning up its turnover margin from one game ago against Saint Joseph's College of Maine. This time, the Poets committed just 10 turnovers, limiting transition opportunities for a La Verne team that thrives in chaos and likes to play fast.
As for Leach, 15 of her 26 points came in the first half, but she kept the offensive pressure on the Leopards leading up to her game-winning shot as well. She got her teammates involved with all four of her assists coming in the final 20 minutes of the game, finding running mate Salloom on almost all of them. Meanwhile, junior guard
Abby Pagila (Oakland, Calif. / Bishop O'Dowd), who has improved considerably over her three years in the program and has developed into an important starter, provided the visitors important depth scoring with seven points.
With La Verne's big surge coming over the third stanza, the home team attempted to control Whittier over the final 10 minutes and largely succeeded in doing so in a close game leading up to the game's final minute. A second-chance layup from Leach cut the Leopards' lead to one, and a defensive stop ultimately resulted in Whittier getting the ball back with about 30 second to play. The patient Poets used the shot clock effectively until Leach saw her opportunity and knocked home another layup that put the Poets back in front for the first time of the quarter. A steal from Pagila would ultimately cinch the game for the Poets, moving their SCIAC record to 4-0 with Wednesday's statement win.
Head Coach
Roy Dow and the Poets can really stake their claim as an early SCIAC favorite with a win over the University of Redlands this weekend, the conference's defending postseason tournament champions. The game is set for a 4 p.m. start time in the Graham Athletic Center.
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