PASADENA, Calif. (Feb. 19, 2009)
– Occidental entered the final week of the regular season
with sole possession of first place and all that stood between them
and clinching at least a share of the SCIAC regular season title
was the Caltech Beavers. Seven minutes into the
contest the Tigers were out to show how much they wanted that crown
as they blitzed the host Beavers with an 18-4 run to open the game,
and held that lead to clinch the 2009 SCIAC conference championship
with a 64-33 victory.
The Tigers (19-5, 11-3) played
suffocating defense, forcing the Beavers into ten first half
turnovers in the opening eight minutes of play, jumping out to a
big lead before a Caltech timeout allowed them to navigate the sea
of Tigers a little easier. As the Beavers began
to find their shooting touch and were able to cut the lead to
single digits twice, before a defensive rebound by Gillian
Nugent fueled a wide open three point shot, for reigning
SCIAC Player of the Year Brianne Brown, which she
buried to put the Tigers back up by double digits and end the last
threat of the contest.
Occidental led 32-20 at the half
and built that lead to as much as 29 in the second half, continuing
to play with intensity on both ends of the floor, as the Beavers
wilted under the pressure allowing Oxy to convert 20 points off
turnovers in the half to pull away.
Three players reached double
figures for the Tigers with Stephanie Babij
leading the way with 20 points and nine rebounds, both game highs,
followed by Britinee
Yasukochi with 10 points, as she shot a perfect 4-for-4
from the field and 2-for-2 from the freethrow line, and
Dior Williams rounded out the leader with 10
points adding a game high six steals.
The Beavers (3-20, 0-13) were led
by the steady play of Lisa Yee who scored 16 points, grabbed eight
rebounds and picked up three steals. Yee picked
up some help from Krissy Dahl who poured in 12 points and pulled
down seven boards.
Occidental sits atop the standings
with one game to play, as the University of La Verne and the
University of Redlands are tied at 10-3. The Leopards from La Verne
will travel to Rush Gymnasium on Saturday to try and capture a
share of the SCIAC title. Redlands will travel to Caltech for its
regular season finale, but will pay close attention to the outcome
of that game down teh road as they will be hoping for a three way
split if they can knock off the Beavers and the Leopards can sweep
the regular season series against the Tigers.
Tip off will be at 5:00 p.m. in
Rush Gymnasium prior to the men's game at 7:30 p.m. As a pair
of seniors are recognized, there is half-time entertainment
scheduled and the first 300 students with Oxy IDs will be rewarded
with an NCAA Tigers Basketball t-shirt. See you on the court!
