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Women cagers knock out Sagehens, 67-56

Displaying why La Verne’s women’s basketball team might be on its way to the playoffs, Tiffany Hall from La Verne and Dawn Brown from Pomona confront each other in a test to see who is going to make the first move. / photo by Veero Der-Karabetian
Displaying why La Verne’s women’s basketball team might be on its way to the playoffs, Tiffany Hall from La Verne and Dawn Brown from Pomona confront each other in a test to see who is going to make the first move. / photo by Veero Der-Karabetian

by Echelle Avelar
Staff Writer

The women’s basketball team packed a punch Pomona-Pitzer will not soon forget as it rallied over the Sagehens, landing victoriously, 67-56, Tuesday night.

“It was a total team effort. They stayed focused,” said Head Coach Julie Kline.

It was a close matchup, with La Verne entering the game ranked No. 10 in the NCAA Division III West Region, holding an 11-8 overall record and 5-2 in conference. Pomona-Pitzer came in ranked at No. 7, with records of 14-5 and 4-2. It was anybody’s game.

Pomona’s strong offense kept the Leopards on the ball throughout the first half.

Trailing at the half, 30-24, La Verne decided to show Pomona-Pitzer what it was really made of. Minutes into the second half, with 13:47 remaining, ULV turned the tide with its first lead of the game, 41-40.

The crowd rose from its seats as it watched an exciting game of cat and mouse. With the Sagehen defenders chasing senior Leslee Rogers, she quickly found her niche, nailing five of her seven three pointers in the second half. She finished the game with 38 points under her belt.

“It was an exciting second half, we played together and made it happen,” said Rogers.

Rogers leads the nation in Division III scoring, averaging 29.1 points per game, and has a total of 553 points. She is second in three-point field goals per game, averaging 4.4. The team is ranked fifth nationwide in three-point field goal percentage at 39.7. Against Pomona-Pitzer, La Verne shot 41.2 (7-17) percent from three point territory.

Rogers’ play had a snowball effect on her teammates, helping them keep the lead. The Sagehens’ defense could not keep the Leopards from their kill.

Junior Katie Miner finished second in scoring for the Leopards with nine points.

“We’re starting to play really well together as a team and it’s making a difference,” said Miner.

La Verne remains one game behind Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7-1) in the SCIAC standings. La Verne has a conference bye tonight and hosts UC San Diego, the West Region’s No. 6 team, tomorrow at 7 p.m.

The Leos will resume SCIAC play next week in key games against Cal Lutheran on Tuesday at home and against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Friday in Claremont.

Echelle Avelar, Sports Editor
Echelle Avelar
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