WHITTIER, Calif. – Whittier College (8-2) held off Saint Joseph's College (6-5), 49-40, in a non-conference women's basketball game on Friday afternoon. For the Monks, the contest was the first of two they will play during the team's Christmas Break trip to California.
The Monks will conclude the trip tomorrow with a 6:00 PM (EST) contest at Cal Lutheran.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Whittier opened the game with a 7-0 run and headed into the second quarter with a 14-8 advantage. Leading 29-15 heading into intermission, the host Poets went on to secure a game-high 16-point lead after Lulu Salloom made a layup to make it a 33-17 game with 6:52 left in the third.
The teams swapped short scoring runs during the remainder of the penultimate period with the Poets holding a 39-26 cushion going into the fourth frame.
The SJC offense started to click in the final quarter as the Monks cut the Whittier advantage down to five points (43-38) on the heels of a 10-0 outbreak. Senior guard Nina Howe (York, Maine) capped the run with a trey with 1:56 on the clock but, unfortunately for the Monks, the effort proved to be too little, too late as the Poets slammed the door with a 6-2 burst in the closing minutes.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Whittier shot 40.8% (20-49) from the field while Saint Joseph's posted a 27.5% (14-51) effort from the floor…Neither team fared well from beyond the arc, as the foes combined to shoot just 10.4% (5-48) from three-point range…The Poets went 3-for-19 (15.8%) from downtown while the Monks were 2-for-29 (6.9%) from deep…Saint Joseph's was 0-18 from long distance before Hailey Anderson (Beverly, Mass.) connected for the team's first trifecta with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Howe netted nine points with two rebounds and a pair of steals
- Sophomore Grace Ramsdell (Wells, Maine) tallied nine points, six boards, and two assists
- Freshman Maddie Russell (Oakfield, Maine) came off the bench to net nine points
- Senior Angelica Hurley (Groveland, Mass.) chipped in with eight points and four rebounds
LEADERS – WHITTIER:
- Salloom scored a game-high 18 points with nine rebounds
- Lainie James added 10 points, six boards, and three assists
- Rhe Nae Leach tallied 10 points, four rebounds, three steals, and a pair of blocks
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Today's meeting between Whittier and Saint Joseph's was the first-ever between the institutions' women's basketball programs.
