LOS ANGELES,
Calif. (Feb. 16, 2008) – In a back-and-forth battle, the
Tiger prevailed with a 75-63 victory over Pomona-Pitzer tonight at
Rush Gymnasium in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference action.
Another solid
performance by Brianne Brown led the Tigers to
their tenth SCIAC victory of the season turning in a 25-point, 14
rebound night.
Late in the game
Oxy went on a 9-0 run, led by a pair of three-pointers off the
bench from Brittany Mally. The Tigers opened a
10-point lead when Britinee Yasukochi sank a
free-throw with 1:25 to play in regulation and Oxy never
relinquished the double-figure lead en route to their eighth
consecutive victory.
Brown, an
all-around player, used her fourth block of the game to grab her
10th rebound of the night at the 10:17 mark, leading to a
Stephanie Babij bucket. Brown captured her eighth
double-double of the season.
Occidental used a
7-0 run mid-way through the first period to take a 16-9 lead, the
largest advantage for either team in the opening half. Brown scored
the final six points of the half (4-for-4 from the line), giving
the Tigers a slight 36-34 edge at the break.
The Tigers shot
48.1 percent from the field, with four three-pointers from four
different players, in the first half. Brown accounted for a perfect
6-for-6 performance from the charity stripe. There was more of the
same for Oxy in the second half, as they shot 42.9 percent from the
field.
Babij finished the
night with 16 after going 7-for-7 from the field, including one
three pointer and one free-throw in two attempts. Mally had 11 on
3-for-6 shooting from long range.
Brown dished out a
game high five assists while she, Babij, Yasukochi and
Laura Mohler each recorded a pair of assists.
Oxy's
defense held the Sagehens to a 37.3 field goal shooting percentage
on the night, including just an 8-for-27 performance in the second
half. PP did however turn in a stellar night at the free-throw line
going 12-for-13 overall.
Pomona-Pitzer's Deirdre Chew led all players with 26 points,
while Mary Padden added 18 for the Sagehens.
On the glass Oxy
finished the night with a 38-28 advantage grabbing 15 offensive
boards, six from Brown and four from senior Stacie
Roshon. Babij had eight total rebounds tonight.
Defensively Mally
added a pair of blocks as did Babij while the Tigers tallied seven
tonight.
Occidental
improves to 18-5, 10-2 as Pomona-Pitzer slides to 3-20, 2-10. The
Tigers remain tied atop the SCIAC standings after the University of
Redlands defeated Whittier College on the road at the Graham
Athletics Center tonight by a score of 67-62.
The Tigers will
return to the court on Thursday, Feb. 21 when they host California
Lutheran University at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday night the Regals
defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 67-45 at home in the Gilbert Arena.
