WHITTIER, Calif. (Feb. 6, 2024) – The Whittier College women's basketball team has been recognized as one of seven ranked programs in Region X, per the NCAA's first round of regional rankings for the 2023-24 season, marking the first time in program history the Poets have earned a regional ranking. Whittier is the lone SCIAC program to appear in the rankings.
NCAA Regional Rankings
Two years removed from winning the program's first SCIAC Postseason Tournament Championship, Head Coach
Roy Dow and the Poets have rebounded in a big way as one of the SCIAC's top four teams through the bulk of the 2023-24 regular season. The Poets have a 14-6 overall record (8-4 SCIAC) and have traded paint with with some of the top programs in the nation. The Purple & Gold won their first seven home games, and with five regular season contests to play, are looking to secure their second SCIAC Postseason Tournament appearance in the last three years. Once qualified, the Poets are proof that all outcomes are on the table, having won the tournament two years ago as the fourth-seeded team.
This year, Whittier has gotten the job done with stingy defense and support from two SCIAC Athlete of the Year contenders in junior guard
Rhe Nae Leach (Riverside, Calif. / John W. North) and junior forward
Lulu Salloom (Santa Clarita, Calif. / Saugus / College of the Canyons). Both players are chief among the SCIAC's leading scorers and rebounders, and Leach is coming off a week for the ages in which she joined the 1,000-point club while becoming the fastest player in program history to reach 500 rebounds for her career.
Dow and the Poets will be back in action on Wednesday night when they host the University of La Verne in a pivotal SCIAC matchup on Staff and Faculty Appreciation Night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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