LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Jan. 19, 2007) –
Both teams rose and took an initial step toward the court, but
paused waiting for the official's call. The final buzzer
already sounded, but no one knew who had won the game. A second
later the referees signaled no shot, sending the University of
Redlands bench into an eruption of celebration while Occidental
College stood solemn in the agony of defeat, as the Bulldogs took a
56-55 victory from the Tigers on their home court at Rush Gymnasium
tonight in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
action.
The Tigers controlled the game in the first
half, taking a 21-7 lead just over 11 minutes into play. At the
mid-way mark, Occidental led by a 33-24 margin.
Things changed, however, eight minutes into
the second half when Redlands pulled even at 39-39 following a pair
of free throws. The game remained close for the remainder with a
point spread never more than four.
It all came down to the buzzer though.
Redlands' Valerie Katamaya layed in a shot to give the
Bulldogs the lead, and eventual winning bucket of the game with 5.1
seconds to play.
Without a pair of starters, Stacie
Roshon and Britinee Yasukochi, who both
fouled out late in the second half, Occidental executed its plan to
the T. Unfortunately it was a fraction of a second too late as the
buzzer rang just before the ball was released and fell through the
net, handing the Tigers their second SCIAC loss
of the season.
Katamaya scored eight of the final 10 UR
points of the game as she finished with 11. Redlands used a
12-for-22 performance in the second half to shoot 54.5 % from the
field. Alison Lavine and Megan Yetman also landed in double figures
with 14 and 15, respectively.
Oxy shot just 33.9 % in the game and a
6-for-22 showing in the second half was a factor in the loss. The
Tigers out-rebounded the Bulldogs 39-35, but converted 11 offensive
rebounds into just two points. Redlands scored seven second chance
points on eight offensive boards.
Brianne Brown led all players
with a double-double that included 19 points and 16 rebounds. Twice
this season she has recorded a double-double. Roshon and Yasukochi
combined to shoot 10-10 from the line, and added 24 points.
Stephanie Babij, who played all 40 minutes,
recorded three blocks and handed out a team leading four assists.
Laura Mohler added three assists and a block to
her seven points and seven rebounds.
With the exception of five total points, the
offense on both sides came from the starters on this night.
Oxy falls to 10-5 overall, with a 2-2 SCIAC
mark. Redlands improves to 10-3, 3-0.
Occidental will be back in action on Thursday,
Jan. 24 when they travel to Claremont, Calif. to play Pomona-Pitzer
at Volkel Gymnasium with tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m.
