Box Score

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- The Whitman women's basketball team improved to 4-0 as they beat UC Santa Cruz this afternoon 69-65 on the Banana Slugs home court at the Hampton Inn Classic II.  Santa Cruz falls to 3-2.
 
The Missionaries got 22 points and 5 rebounds from point guard Heather Johns and 19 points and 11 boards from forward Sarah Anderegg as the Missionaries held off the game Slugs.
 
Whitman led at halftime 33-29 and the four point differential proved to be the final margin as both clubs scored 36 points in the second half. The Missionaries shot just over 40 % for the game while holding Santa Cruz to just 36 %.
 
In the first half, the Missionaries took a 14-0 lead after forward Hailey Ann Maeda made a jump shot and it looked like they were in total control, but the Slugs inched back into the game and cut the lead to four just before halftime on a layup from Sara Crane.
 
Santa Cruz tied the game early in the second half at 35-all with two free throws by Sarah Mackey, and took the lead for the first time, moments later, on a pair of fouls shots by Geena Giovannetti. The teams battled back-and-forth before the Slugs took a five point lead with 8:19 left on a three-ball by Giovannetti.
 
Whitman hung tight, tying the game at 55-apiece on a Maeda layup, but Santa Cruz pushed it back out to a five point margin again with two free throws from Giovannetti. With the Slugs leading 63-58 and 5:31 showing on the clock, the Missionaries made their move, outscoring Santa Cruz 11-2 the rest of the way. An Anderegg layup started the run that was capped off by two free throws from Meghan White to provide the final margin.
 
Whitman got a big boost off the bench from Maeda who tallied career-highs in both points and rebounds. The sophomore poured in 11 points and snatched 10 rebounds.
 
The Slugs were led by Mackey with 20 points and 5 rebounds. Leah Parrish added 10 points and 7 boards.
 
The victory wraps up a successful 2-0 trip for the Missionaries who downed the University of Redlands yesterday by a score of 67-61.
 
Whitman now heads home to host Walla Walla University this Tuesday night at 7 pm.
 
 
Contact:
Andrew Holt
Whitman Sports Information Director
holtac@whitman.edu
509.527.5902