LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Dec. 17, 2007) – Winter break is upon us, but basketball season is just heating up. Today marked the first of a two-day Tiger-Poet Classic at Rush Gymnasium on the campus of Oxy.

In the tournament opener the Wartburg College Warhawks defeated co-host Whittier College by a score of 66-49. A 25-22 Poets' lead disintegrated when Wartburg went on a 16-3 run late in the second half to seal the victory.

The Warhawks (6-1) were led by 15 points from Elizabeth Campbell (5-11) and 13 points from Sharese VanSloten (4-11) while Jamie Frantz grabbed a game high eight rebounds.

Whittier (2-3) looked to Rosario Rios-Aquilar for the majority of their scoring as she led all players with 19 points on 8-for-16 shooting. Additionally she pulled down a team leading seven rebounds.

In the night cap, host Occidental College, powered past the Viterbo University V-Hawks. Oxy took a commanding 43-18 halftime lead en route to a 76-55 final. Four Tigers players hit double figures in the contest as Brianne Brown led the way. Stacie Roshon added 14, Laura Mohler, who was 3-3 from long range, finished with 13 and sophomore Brittany Mally tallied 12 in her first start of the season.

Mally, Roshon, Brown and Stephanie Babij each grabbed three rebounds. Mohler added a team high five assists and Brown recorded a team leading four steals.

For the V-Hawks both Audrah Berger and Katie Mechling scored 14 and 13 respectively. Joni Stanek pulled down a game high six rebounds and Leah Olson supplied a game leading six assists. Olson and Kari Thiel each had a pair of assists.

Tomorrow the tournament will conclude with games tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. In the early game Viterbo and Whittier will meet before Wartburg and Occidental cap off the tournament in the second game.