WHITTIER, Calif. (Jan. 29, 2025) – Senior
Lorita Salloom (Santa Clarita, Calif. / Saugus / College of the Canyons) of the Whittier College women's basketball team has had many memorable games in her epic two-year career with the Poets. However, she may have had her best game to date with her performance against Occidental College on Wednesday night. The Poets went on the road and beat the Tigers, 67-63, to secure the season sweep.
Salloom set the tone early, both with her scoring and rebounding. By the time the first half came to a close, she had already notched a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. The paint dominance continued into the game's remaining quarters. She finished with 24 points and an unfathomable 17 rebounds, with the first 16 coming on the defensive glass. Her final rebound for the game couldn't have come at a better time. As great as the senior forward played, the host Tigers simply wouldn't go away. Oxy erased a deficit and took a four-point lead with under three minutes to go. Salloom grabbed her first offensive board just prior to this, and when the chips were down, senior forward
Faith Boulanger (Burbank, Calif. / John Burroughs / Glendale CC | Cal State San Bernardino) delivered with a huge three-pointer. The triple was Boulanger's second of the quarter, and put the Poets back in contention at a mere one-point deficit.
Boulanger would then hit a pair of free throws to help her team regain the lead. The senior's heroics would open the door for senior guard
Rhe Nae Leach (Moreno Valley, Calif. / John W. North) to slam the door shut. Leach scored the final four points of the game, and while Wednesday was not her most efficiency night, she did manage to continue a streak of 26 consecutive games of double-figure points going back to Jan. 15 of last year -- a game which she left early due to injury. She also had eight rebounds and four assists.
Despite Salloom's Herculean effort on the glass, the Poets still had to scratch and claw for every rebound with the Tigers, winning the battle 39-38. However, the Poets were the decidedly more efficient team, and for that they also have Salloom to thank. The senior went 10-for-17 from the field and knocked down two three-pointers for the first time all season.
Head Coach
Kristen Dowling and the Poets are inching toward clinching a SCIAC Postseason Tournament berth, and could soon be in the conversation to clinch home court advantage throughout the tournament. They now hold a three-game lead on the Tigers for second-place. Their next test will come in the form of the University of La Verne on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m.
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