Box Score WHITTIER, Calif. (Feb. 7, 2024) – The Whittier College women's basketball team put on a show for more than 180 Poet fans in attendance on Staff & Faculty Appreciation Night, but some last second heroics, followed by an ensuing war of attrition in double overtime saw the Poets come up on the short end of things against the University of La Verne.
The Leopards, much like the Poets, are among the SCIAC's top teams. Nevertheless, Whittier found itself on the verge of sweeping the Leopards and inching closer to a clinching scenario for the upcoming SCIAC Postseason Tournament. Fresh off a week full of milestones, junior guard
Rhe Nae Leach (Riverside, Calif. / John W. North) showed once again why she is a force to be reckoned with in the conference. Leach played the entire game and went made seven of her last 11 shots to key a huge second half for the Poets. Senior forward
Lainie James (La Habra, Calif. / Sonora / Concordia University Irvine), meanwhile, lifted the Poets early with 14 of her 20 points coming before halftime, with 12 of those points falling in the second quarter alone. James flashed the inside-outside offensive style she became known for at Whittier, shooting the ball with confidence and poise for the duration of Wednesday's contest.
Whittier had early success in bogging down the Leopards offense in a first quarter where both teams combined for 17 points. The Poets have seen most of their success this season in low-scoring games, and things appeared to moving their direction early. However, the versatile Leopards showed what they can do offensively in the ensuing quarter, though a timely three-pointer in the period's waning seconds from senior guard
Citlalli Gurrola (San Diego, Calif. / Mount Miguel / Miles CC | UNLV) kept the Poets within nine to start the third quarter. While Whittier has largely shown itself to be a second-half, and more specifically a fourth-quarter team this season, the Poets actually found a second wind at the very beginning of the second half. Leach provided ample scoring in the early going, and following a handful of huge defensive stops, the Leopards seemingly lost their rhythm coming out of the break.
By the end of the third quarter, the Poets successfully turned a nine-point deficit into a one-point lead. In all, the Purple & Gold held La Verne to just 18 points over the last 20 minutes of regulation, but much like how Gurrola trimmed the Leopards lead at the end of the first half, La Verne would show similar magic at the fourth-quarter buzzer. After Leach knocked down two of her 10 free throws for the game to give the Poets a three-point lead, the Leopards heaved one final shot at the buzzer that struck the back board hard, but caught the inside of the rim and went through the net to force overtime.
One overtime period would not be enough to separate the two teams, however. Both teams scored six points in the first set of extra minutes, setting the stage for five more minutes to be tacked on. An early offensive surge from the Leopards would prove too much for the Poets, though Wednesday's game is perhaps further evidence of how little separation there is at the top of The SCIAC. Leach, Whittier's 50-minute iron woman, would finish the game with 28 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
Head Coach Roy Dow and the Poets will look to get back on the winning track when they travel to Chapman University for a 5 p.m. game. A victory will eliminate the Panthers from SCIAC Postseason Tournament consideration, and keep the Poets at least a game ahead of the University of Redlands as the 2023-24 regular season begins to wind down.
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