Photo by Chris Mora

LA VERNE, Calif. — Pomona-Pitzer rode a second half hot streak to beat the La Verne women's basketball team 71-67 on Monday night at Voelkel Gymnasium.

La Verne falls to 2-17 overall and 2-7 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Pomona-Pitzer picks up its first win of the season to move to 1-17 and 1-9. The win is also Pomona-Pitzer coach Jill Pace's first as a head coach.

The Leopards had a 5-point edge at the break but the Sagehens shot 10-of-19 from the field (52.6 percent) in the third quarter to close the gap and eventually pulled away. To make matters worse, La Verne only shot 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) in the frame. The Sagehens took its first lead of the game since the game's first basket with Sophie True's layup with five minutes left in the third quarter. Pomona-Pitzer then went on a 11-2 run to take a 52-41 lead and went into the final period leading 52-43.

La Verne chipped away at the lead, however, and had a chance to tie the game when Brianna Bishop earned an and-1 opportunity with 1:09 left in the game. But Bishop missed the free throw, Keilani Ikehara sank a three to give the Sagehens a 68-64 lead with 21 seconds to go and Pomona-Pitzer held on for the win.

Faye Osburn led the Leopards with 11 points. Noelle Cobb score eight points and nine rebounds. Madison Rubino chipped in eight points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Pomona-Pitzer's Alaina Woo led all players with 26 points. Ikehara finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals. Anita Romero scored 12 points.

The Leopards are back in action on Wednesday at Occidental.