Bushnell University

WHITTER, Calif. – Outscored by 13 points in the first quarter, the Bushnell women's basketball kept things close, but couldn't come all the way back in a season-opening loss to Whittier College on Monday, 83-69.
 
The Beacons (0-1) found themselves trailing by as many as 16 points early in the second quarter, but used a 14-0 run fueled by eight points from Mandy Sisul to claw their way back to within 33-31 with two minutes remaining in the half.
 
The Poets put the pieces back together from there to pull away for good, shooting 45% in the game, outscoring the Beacons 22-7 in points off turnovers, and used their depth to hold a 12-3 advantage in bench scoring.
 
Head Coach Chad Meadors said, "This was a tough one tonight and out defense was not what we needed it to be tonight. They shot the lights out from the get go. We gave them open looks and they knocked them down. Offensively, we hung around, but we didn't get enough stops to get a win tonight We need to establish some better defensive habits, but we have start somewhere and now we have a good baseline to build off of."
 
Sisul (pictured) led the Beacons with a career-high 28 points, shooting 8-for-13 from the field and hitting five three-pointers. Libby Mathis nearly opened her fifth season with a double-double, scoring 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds while Ayden Krupke scored 12 points, hitting a trio of three-pointers. Sabrina Flowers made her Bushnell debut with six assists and five points.
 
Whitter (2-0) was led by Rhe nae Leach, scoring 28 points and 12 rebounds while Lorita Salloom scored 18 points and 16 rebounds.
 
The Beacons will play one more game on their Southern California road trip, heading to Fullerton to take on Hope International University (2-2) on Tuesday at 5:30 pm.