WHITTIER, Calif. — Emily Myers had a double-double and Tiffany Hicks scored a season-high 17 points, but turnovers cost the University of La Verne women's basketball in a 68-63 loss at Graham Athletic Center on Wednesday night.

Both teams were sloppy with the ball—La Verne turned the ball over 22 times and Whittier gave up 18—but the Poets were able to take better advantage of the Leopards' miscues as they scored 25 points off turnovers while the Leopards managed 13.

And turnovers played a huge part in a critical stretch of the game. After the Leopards grabbed a 37-32 lead on a Myers layup at the 14:35 mark in the second half, the Poets ripped off a 13-0 run to take an eight-point lead, the largest of the game. During the run, the Leopards committed four turnovers and the Poets capitalized on all of them for nine points.

La Verne clawed back to take a 53-52 lead aided by seven points from Tiffany Hicks, but went just 3-of-14 from the field the rest of the way.

Myers was dominant inside. She finished 24 points and 15 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. She also swatted away three shots.

Hicks proved her usual lift off the bench and added seven rebounds.

Ana Youngblood had a huge second half for the Poets. The forward scored 22 points in the second half alone and helped seal the deal for Whittier with 12 points in the game's final six minutes. She finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds.

The Leopards fall to 9-11 overall and 6-5 in SCIAC play, but remain in the thick of the race for a spot in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament. Whittier improves to 8-10 (4-6 SCIAC).

La Verne returns home on Saturday to host Pomona-Pitzer at 2 p.m.