LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Jan. 14, 2010) - After a tough loss Saturday, the Tigers couldn't wait to get back on the floor, and it showed as they sprinted out to a 26-10 lead tonight against CMS on their way to a home victory .  The visiting Athenas did not go down without a fight, battling back to cut the deficit to within striking distance several times, but they could never overtake the lead and fell to their third straight conference loss.

In the opening half, the Tigers and Athenas traded baskets for the first five minutes, as neither could take control of the game.  But then Oxy broke open a 10-10 tie with a 16-0 run with some big shots from beyond the arc.  First Katelyn Rowe started the run with a nice turnaround jumper, off a great pass from Britinee Yasukochi.  Then came the rain, as Oxy hit four three pointers to go along with a Makenzie Brandon layup.  Gillian Nugent came right off the bench and within four seconds of being inserted drained a long three from the wing.  Then Samantha Rossi, who had just come into the game with Nugent, knocked down another three from the opposite wing.  Followed up by another triple from Nugent, and then the final trey coming from Laura Mohler, who launched from NBA distance, as her defender was positioned on the three point arc and there was still five feet between Mohler and the defender.

The hot shooting did not last, as Oxy started to cool off, allowing CMS to ride the quick trigger of guard Aria Krumwiede, who scored 12 points in the half, back into contention.  While they only shot 27.6% from the field in the half, they still were within five with less then a minute to play, before Mohler drilled another three with a defender in her face to send the Tigers into halftime with an eight point advantage.  Oxy felt comfortable with their long range shooting, as half of their shots came from behind the arc (5-15), while CMS found a way to stay close even they ended up shooting less then 28% from the field and behind the arc.

Oxy came out in the second half and went on an 8-2 run, pushing the lead to 14, the biggest lead they would have in the final 16 minutes of action.  Fueled by a change of attack, as they drove the ball inside, scoring on layups from Dior Williams, Yasukochi and Brandon.  Brandon then capped the drive with a stop and pop from the wing on a secondary break opportunity.  Back came Krumwiede for CMS, who scored six consecutive points, to keep the Athenas close.  In a great game for the Tiger freshman, Brandon answered with four straight points, on her way to a 15 point and 7 rebound night.  Rossi solidified her perfect night from the field (2-2 from behind the arc and 2-2 from the line) with her second three, and Oxy reestablished there double digit cushion.  CMS had one run left in them, fighting back to slice the lead to five at 54-49, but then the Athenas went ice cold from the field as the Oxy defense pitched a shutout for the final three minutes.  The Tigers iced the game by knocking down five freethrows to secure the 59-49 conference victory.

Krumwiede kept CMS (9-5, 0-3) in it, scoring a game high 22 points, but her 23 shots to hit that total was indicative of the kind of night her team had from the field.  As the SCIAC athlete of the week could not improve on the 25.4% her team shot from the field tonight, falling to their third straight loss in the competitive SCIAC conference.  The Tigers (9-4, 2-1) also benefited from Stephanie Babij's third straight double double, as she scored 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.  Yasukochi also had a big night distributing the basketball, as she handed a game high nine assists.

Oxy now trails Redlands (3-0 SCIAC) by one game in the standings, as well as Cal Lutheran (3-0 SCIAC), who they will be facing on Saturday January 17th, in a big conference showdown.  Tip off is at 5pm at Cal Lutheran.