Sagehens use overtime to upset Poets

CLAREMONT, Calif. - One day after the Whittier College and Pomona-Pitzer men's basketball teams battled to an overtime decision the women did the same. This time, however, the result would be different as the Sagehens upset the Poets, 68-65, at Voelkel Gymnasium on Thursday night.

The Poets (15-9, 7-6 SCIAC) were led by Kourtney Zilbert who recorded her seventh double-double of the season with a 17-point and, a season-high, 18-rebound effort. Her previous high on the glass was 12 boards which she accomplished twice.

Whittier struggled from the field in the first half as they shot a mere 27 percent (11-for-41) but still managed to take a 24-21 lead into the intermission. The purple and gold did not trail in the first frame and twice built as large as a nine-point lead.

WC surrendered the lead for the first time in the game at 33-31 with 15:04 to play in the second half but quickly took the lead back by going on an 8-0 run to go up 39-33 with 11:35 left in regulation.

Whittier matched its first half high for a lead with a nine-point advantage, 58-49, with 2:45 to play but the Sagehens (7-16, 3-10 SCIAC) ended regulation on an 11-2 run to tie the score at 60.

The Poets had two chances at the end of the game to tie the score with a three-pointer but Morgan Sabala and Erica Amico both came up short.

The Poets remain in fourth place in the conference as Occidental, La Verene and Redlands have all secured a spot in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

The Poets conclude their regular season on Saturday, February 21, at 5:00 p.m. as they host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on ‘PAC the GAC' night at the Graham Athletic Center. The winner of Saturday's game will receive the fourth berth into the SCIAC playoffs.

CMS defeated the Poets, 65-56, on January 29.