Tigers tame Poets, win 64-60.

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whittier college women's basketball lose to tigers of occidental Adrianna Game, Sports - By on Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 02:06

The Whittier women’s basketball team (7-16) battled the Occidental Tigers (19-3) in which they were defeated by only 4 points in the last couple minutes of the game resulting in their second loss to the Tigers this season. The loss drops the Poets to 4-8 in SCIAC.
Although the Tigers dominated the court in the early moments of the game on Saturday, Feb. 11, the Poets tied the game twice around the five-minute mark from two consecutive jumpers from first-year guard Dannika Navales-Lugtu on back-to-back Poet possessions. The points gained their first lead of the night when senior forward Tanisha White sunk a 3 from downtown. With 50 seconds left on the clock, junior forward Alex Coon hit a jumper and increased the lead to 29-24 at halftime.

Occidental regained momentum, opening the second half on an 8-0 run. The Poets broke the run at 16:20 as Coon made a lay up. The Poets’ defense then forced two back-to-back turnovers against the Tigers. Occidental’s Makenzie Brandon, who had been stopped by the Poets’ defense in the first half, made her presence felt as she drove to the basket, drew the foul and completed the 3-point play. Brandon totaled 16 points in the second half.

Although Occidental scored 11 points off of turnovers by the Poets in the second-half, the Poets fought all the way until final seconds. Navales-Lugtu and senior guard Monica Salazar made free throws that kept the game close. White stole the ball from the Tigers and drained a 3-pointer bringing the Poet deficit to 4 with only 17 seconds remaining on the clock. Occidental’s Liz Little missed as she was double teamed, but the Tigers regained possession with the offensive rebound and closed with the victory. The final score was 64-60 Occidental.
Navales-Lugtu led the Poets with a total of 17 points and five assists, while White and Coon also finished in double figures.

The Poets will take on La Verne on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Come cheer on the four seniors: guards Brittany Aranda, Keimi Lew, Monica Salazar and forward Tanisha White during their Senior Night on Thursday evening.