LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Jan. 21, 2010) - After a methodical first
half, the Tigers turned to their depth and overwhelmed the visiting
Beavers, blowing the game open in the second half, en route to a
68-30 home conference victory. Caltech kept the deficit to
single digits for most of the first half, going into halftime down
31-21, but a frenetic Tiger pace, aided by fresh legs, was too much
for the visitors to handle as they could only muster nine points in
the half as Oxy ran to a conference victory.
Oxy stayed with a tight rotation in the first half, playing
seven players, but could never pull away from the Beavers.
After a quick surge to start the game, the Tigers couldn't keep up
the tempo, and fell into a pace that favored Caltech. The
Beavers were down by 10 several times in the first half, but kept
grinding the game down to a methodical pace, and with two minutes
left, had cut the lead to five points. With the slower pace,
the Tigers were outrebounded in the half (20-14) and if not for the
15 points poured in by Stephanie Babij in the
half, on her way to a game high 17, this would have been a much
closer game.
Up 31-21 to start the second half, Oxy came out with a renewed
intensity and strategy, as they started this half as they had
started the game, coming out in their 2-2-1 zone press and ran off
to an 8-2 start but subbed much more freely and never let Caltech
play at the pace they wanted. For twenty straight minutes
they played an aggressive uptempo style, scoring 37 while
surrendering only three baskets.
Fueling the run was the impressive play of Katelyn
Rowe, who pulled down eight boards to go along with three
blocked shots, along with Natalie Kolodinski who
grabbed four rebounds and picked off two passes to spark the Tiger
running game. Outlet passes found Makenize
Brandon or Britinee Yasukochi who made
all the right decisions. Yasukochi handing out four of her
game high 10 assists while Brandon slashed to the rim for nine
second half points, finishing the game with 11 points and five
steals.
If Caltech was able to set their half court defense and shut
down the paint, Brittany Mally made them pay,
launching from well beyond the arc, connecting on two
bombs, scoring eight points in nine second half
minutes. Eleven players scored for the Tigers, as the
bench accounted for 25 points, five blocks, eight assists and eight
steals. By the time the final buzzer sounded, Caltech (4-12,
0-5) walked off the court wondering how such a close game in the
first twenty minutes, ended with them on the wrong end of a 68-30
decision, but they could not match the depth of the Tigers.
As only six players logged double digit minutes, and fatigue was a
major factor in the Beavers only scoring three baskets, while
shooting 12% for the half.
Oxy (12-4, 4-1) kept pace with the top of the SCIAC, holding on
to a second place tie with Cal Lutheran, as Redlands knocked off
Whittier tonight to hold on to the top spot with a perfect 5-0
record. Next up for the Tigers is a road date with the La
Verne Leopards (8-8, 1-4) on Saturday, January 23rd with
tip off scheduled for 5 pm.
