CLAREMONT, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer women's basketball team defeated the Whittier Poets 63-58 behind 25 points from Madison Quan and a double-double from Emily Church with 10 points and 19 rebounds. Church's 19 rebounds are the most in a single game since Basha Brulee-Wills recorded 22 rebounds against La Verne on Feb. 20, 2016. The Sagehens shot 34.4% from the field and 24.2% from beyond the arc with Quan hitting five three-pointers. The Sagehens will be back in action this Saturday when they host the La Verne Leopards at 12:00 p.m.

How It Happened 

In the first quarter, the Sagehens held the Poets to just 12 points while scoring 25 of their own. The Sagehens started the game on a 6-2 run with buckets from Allison Murphy and Charlize Andaya. Pomona-Pitzer continued to expand their lead as Maison Yee and Kaitlyn Leung both hit threes to make it 14-5 with 4:06 left in the quarter. The Sagehens had their largest lead of the quarter at 21-7 after another Leung three. The Poets were able to find five points down the stretch but trailed Pomona-Pitzer 25-12 heading into the second quarter. 

Whittier started the second quarter with an 8-0 run to cut the Sagehens lead to 25-20 with 6:52 left in the half. The Poets continued to chip away, pulling within three at 27-24 but Madison Quan hit back-to-back three-pointers to spark the offense and give Pomona-Pitzer a 34-24 lead with 3:39 left in the quarter. Allison Murphy and Emily Church each added two more points as the Sagehens went into the halftime break with a 38-31 lead. 

Out of the halftime break, the Poets brought the game to a tie at 38-38 after a 7-0 run but Emily Church pushed the Sagehens back in front after making two free throws to make it 40-38 with 5:09 left in the third quarter. Church earned the next two points with a hard-fought bucket in the paint just over a minute later to make it 42-38. Following that play, the Poets turned the ball over with Vanessa Hsia coming up with the steal and giving it to Kaitlyn Leung. Leung found an open Madison Quan who hit a shot from downtown to force the Poets to call a timeout with Pomona-Pitzer leading 38-45. Kaitlyn Leung extended the Sagehens run to 9-0 with a layup with 2:35 left in the quarter. The run came to an end after a three from the Poets, but the Sagehens entered the fourth quarter with a 47-41 lead. 

The Poets earned the first bucket of the fourth, but Madison Quan responded with a three-pointer, setting the score at 50-43 with 7:17 left to play. Whittier pulled within two at 50-48 but Emily Church pushed the lead back to four with a layup. After a media timeout with 3:45 left in the fourth, the Poets hit a three to pull within one at 52-51 before making a layup to take their first lead of the game at 53-52. A Poets free throw made it 54-52 with 1:30 left in regulation. A late turnover gave the Poets possession with 34 seconds left, forcing the Sagehens to foul and send Whitter to the free throw line. The Poets missed both free throws and Pomona-Pitzer called a timeout to advance the ball and set up their next play. Out of the break, Emily Church picked up her 17th rebound of the game and put it back up for two points and a tie game at 54-54 with 17 seconds left in the game. Church's tying shot held through the end of regulation after a great defensive effort from the Sagehens forced overtime to decide a winner. 

Whittier found themselves at the free throw line 1:02 into overtime but made just one of two to take the lead at 55-54. After back and forth play with no points, Madison Quan hit a deep three-pointer to give the Sagehens a 57-55 lead with 1:49 to play. The Poets missed a three-point shot and had a shot clock violation with 34 seconds left but found two points with four seconds left. Whittier fouled Quan three separate times, but she made all six rebounds as the Sagehens earned the 63-58 victory over the Poets.

What's Up Next 

Pomona-Pitzer will host the La Verne Leopards on Saturday Jan. 22 at 12:00 p.m.