SCIAC Playoffs: Game Day Central
No. 4 Whittier College at No. 1 Occidental College
Thursday, February 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Teams
Whittier College enters the game as the No. 4 seed in the
conference tournament after it finished the regular-season 16-9
overall and 8-6 in the conference. Occidental claimed its second
straight regular-season SCIAC championship, and No. 1 seed in the
conference tournament, as it finished 20-5 overall and 12-2 in
the SCIAC.
Against each other
The Poets and Tigers have faced each other twice this
season as Occidental claimed wins in both of those meetings.
January 22 - Occidental 68, Whittier 46
February 14 - Occidental 78, Whittier 63
Players to Watch
Whittier
Sophomore forward Kourtney Zilbert has been the
leader of the Poets all season and the playoffs will be no
different. Zilbert leads the team with a 13.9 points per game
average and is pulling in a team-high 8.1 rebounds a game. Over her
last two games the Burbank, Calif., native has recorded monster
double-doubles as she turned in a 17-point, 18-rebound effort
against Pomona-Pitzer on February 19 and backed up that performance
with a 20-point, 17-rebound evening against Claremont-M-S.
Occidental
The Tigers have three players that are averaging in double figures
but it is Brianne Brown who leads Occidental. The
senior guard has a team-high 12.9 points per game average and ranks
second on the team with a 5.6 rebounds per game average. The
transfer from Western Kentucky University has led the team in
scoring 11 times this year and scored a season-high 25 points on
back-to-back nights on February 7 against Pomona-Pitzer and
February 12 against Claremont-M-S
Projected Starters
Whittier College
#00 Kourtney Zilbert, So., Forward, 13.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.7
apg
#1 Stephanie Anderson, Sr., Guard, 5.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 1.3
apg
#10 Tina Merlino, So., Forward, 9.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.8 apg
#21 Morgan Sabala, So., Guard, 8.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.4 apg
#25 Brittany Aranda, Fr., Guard, 6.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.8 apg
Occidental College
#3 Britinee Yasukochi, Jr., Guard, 3.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 3.3
apg
#5 Dior Williams, So. (RS), Guard, 10.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.6 apg
#31 Madeline Rose, So., Forward, 5.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 apg
#32 Brianne Brown, Sr., Guard, 12.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.2 apg
#35 Stephanie Babij, So., Guard, 10.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.2
apg
ppg - points per game
rpg - rebounds per game
apg - assists per game
Other SCIAC game
Semifinal
No. 3 La Verne (18-6, 10-4 SCIAC) at No. 2 Redlands (19-6, 11-3
SCIAC)
Championship Game (February 28)
To be determined. Higher seed will host.
Photo by: Tony Leon/Action West Photography
