LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Feb 20, 2007) - Tuesday night's home finale
was everything it should have been: a high-intensity game between
two quality teams battling for the SCIAC title. La
Verne hit seven of eight free throws in the final 47 seconds and
ten of 13 in the last three minutes to pull out a 78-68 victory,
clinching its first SCIAC title since 2002-03.
Occidental, now 15-9 overall, slipped to third place in the
league standings with Redlands and will wrap up the season Thursday
at Whittier College. Game time is 5:00pm at Graham
Activities Center. La Verne (18-6, 11-2) earns the
league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III
Championship.
The Tigers had no answer for La Verne's Trenecca Jones, who scored
37 points with 15 rebounds. Jones went nine of 15 from
the floor and 18 of 20 from the free throw line in the
game. La Verne led 65-55 with 5:36 remaining and 71-63
with just over two minutes left.
Dior Williams '10 cut the deficit to six on a put-back moments
later and Laura Mohler '10 hit a pull-up jumper to bring the
Tigers within three with 1:14 remaining.
Occidental misfired on seven attempts in the next fifty
seconds, including a heart-rending three-pointer from Stacie Roshon
'08 that seemed to go halfway down before rimming out.
Emily Carrillo made four of four free throw attempts and Jones
hit three of four to help La Verne seal the win.
Amelia Abernathy '10 was a force in her last game at Rush Gym,
scoring 16 points with 12 rebounds and three assists.
Roshon drained five three-pointers to finish with 19 points
while Williams added 14 with four assists. Jessica
Cross '10 collected ten points and 14 rebounds, ten on the
offensive glass. The Tigers out-rebounded La Verne
51-34.
