REDLANDS, Calif. (Feb. 13, 2008) – Everyone knew it would be a battle, but tonight on the road the Tigers and Bulldogs needed two extra periods to determine a winner in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown.

Occidental (17-5) prevailed with a 69-66 victory to join the University of Redlands (16-6) atop the SCIAC standings at 9-2.

Sophomore Laura Mohler led the pack down the stretch with some key free-throws, accounting for five OT points, including the final two Tigers points with five seconds remaining to seal the win.

"We did the little things to grind out the win,” offered Associate Head Coach Avi Meyerson. “Our girls were aggressive, diving on the floor for loose balls, while making key defensive stops and took care of the ball down the stretch.”

Despite having been down for the majority of regulation, the Oxy defense was able to lock up and wear down the Bulldogs in OT, holding Redlands to just 3-for-15 shooting.

The Bulldogs opened with a 6-1 lead and held the advantage for the first 14 minutes until the Tigers knotted things up at 23 on a bucket by senior guard Stacie Roshon. The teams continued to battle over the remaining 6:37 with Oxy taking a slim 33-30 lead into the locker room.

In the second half there was more of the same, although the Bulldogs held the lead for the next 11 minutes until the Roshon again tied things up, giving the Tigers a lead after making two free-throws at the 2:34 mark.

With 46 second remaining the Bulldogs tied the game at 59-59, which is what the scoreboard read when time expired in regulation.

Oxy was tough on the glass, grabbing 54 rebounds while UR finished with just 33. Stephanie Babij came up big tonight with a 15 rebounds (four offensive) and added 15 points for a double-double. Babij also had the only Oxy block in the game.

Brianne Brown, Mohler and UR's Rachae' Bell each scored a game-high 19 points and Roshon accounted for the final Tigers' double figure performance with 11. Brown dished out a team high four assists and Mohler added three.

“This was a great win for us, but we know our season is a long way from over," said Meyerson.

Occidental will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 16 when they tip off with Pomona-Pitzer at 5:00 p.m. before the men's team meets the Sagehens at 7:30 p.m. on the floor at Rush Gymnasium.