THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (Feb. 15, 2025) – The Whittier College women's basketball team saw its historic SCIAC regular season run halted at 13 games at the hands of a tough California Lutheran University team on Saturday evening. The Poets came up on the short end of a physical game against the team that provided arguably the Poets' toughest test at home this season.
Both teams racked up 22 fouls apiece, a game-high for the Poets in a SCIAC game this season. However, that wound up working to the advantage of the host Regals, who boast superior numbers. That did not, however, prevent senior forward
Lorita Salloom (Santa Clarita, Calif. / Saugus / College of the Canyons) from once again showing herself to be one of the SCIAC's most dominant paint players. Salloom double-doubled with 17 points and 13 rebounds, one game after she joined the 500-rebound club. Saturday also marked a return to double-digit rebounds for Salloom, who had not achieved such a mark in nearly two weeks.
Salloom was not the only Poet to go out on their shield on Saturday. Senior guard and All-American candidate
Rhe Nae Leach (Moreno Valley, Calif. / John W. North) led the way with 22 points and played a great, balanced offensive game. She shot 50% from the field and knocked down eight free throws to go with five rebounds and three assists. Although she picked up five fouls, Leach's fifth and decisive foul did not come until the game's waning seconds, though with several of her teammates also finding themselves in foul trouble, the allocation of fouls became a hinderance to the Poets' defensive efforts down the stretch.
Other Whittier contributors included freshman forward
Kennedy Perkins (Tehachapi, Calif. / Tehachapi), who picked up 10 rebounds and freshman guard
Yaneli Rosales (San Diego, Calif. / Mount Miguel), who led all Whittier players with four assists. Senior forward
Faith Boulanger (Burbank, Calif. / John Burroughs / Glendale CC | Cal State San Bernardino) played a critical role as a scorer in Saturday's game, finishing with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting. If the senior can sustain her offensive efficiency down the stretch, the Purple & Gold figure to be a force in this year's SCIAC Tournament regardless of Saturday's result.
Head Coach Kristen Dowling and the Poets will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 19 when they travel to Caltech in the penultimate game of the 2024-25 regular season. They remain locked in as the SCIAC's top regular season finisher.
Follow and show support for your Whittier Poets on Twitter (@WCPoets), YouTube and Instagram (@PoetAthletics)!
