LA VERNE, Calif. (Feb. 1, 2025) – The Whittier College women's basketball team moved to 10-0 in conference play Saturday afternoon with senior
Kristen Lopez (Lancaster, Calif. / Lancaster / Antelope Valley College | Elmhurst University) starring among notable contributors against the University of La Verne. With the win, the Poets completed the season sweep of La Verne and sealed another notch in what has been the program's best start to the SCIAC slate.
Playing against one of the SCIAC's most notorious three-point shooting teams, Lopez rose to the occasion by attempting all of her shots on the afternoon from the perimeter. The result? Five converted three-pointers, and a sixth in which she was fouled on. She finished with 17 points for the night over 25 minutes of a game in which the Poets showed they could compete with the Leopards anywhere on the floor.
Lopez was not Whittier's only major contributor. Senior forward
Lorita Salloom (Santa Clarita, Calif. / Saugus / College of the Canyons) cemented herself as one of the SCIAC's most presently in-form players with 21 points and 15 rebounds. That makes it Salloom's fifth time in the last six games she has has at least 15 rebounds. Meanwhile, she has double-doubled in each of those games, and one game after dropping 24 points on Occidental College, the senior weny 9-for-14 from the field to give Whittier plenty of offensive juice against a Leopards team capable of heating up from deep.
However, Whittier's collective defense was perhaps just as impressive as anything. While the Leopards shot reasonable well from deep, the Poets held them to just 9-of-24 shooting from inside the three-point line. Additionally, most of the damage came in a first quarter where La Verne scored 26 points. However, The Poets finished the game outshooting the Leopards by 7%, and thanks to the effort of Salloom, Lopez and others, they were able to outscore the home team 63-34 over the game's final 30 minutes.
That's not all the Poets had going for them, however. Not to be outdone, senior guard
Rhe Nae Leach (Moreno Valley, Calif. / John W. North) came one assist away from achieving a triple-double for the second time this year. However, Saturday's performance made it four double-doubles for the senior superstar in the last five games. She led the Poets to a collective assist:turnover ratio of 17-8, and the team's ability to take care of the ball ultimately led to more of the repeated scoring looks that willed them back into the game.
Head Coach Kristen Dowling and the Poets will head to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for their next test on Wednesday, Feb. 5. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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